Straight Shootin'
by Mag68
Summary: This is my submission for the Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda Season 2 challenge. My episode? Back in the Saddle Again. Let's see if we can't get these two kids to pony up, shall we?
1. Guns A Blazin'

**A/N: This is my submission for the Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda Season 2 challenge. I will admit that this has been a lot more difficult for me than I anticipated. My episode is **_**Back in the Saddle Again**_**, which is a fairly Luke-less episode. In some ways that's great, because I can make him do whatever I want, and I love making Luke do whatever I want! There are no pesky love interests to kill off, but the episode itself doesn't really give me much to play with, so this story will draw a great deal from things that happened in previous episodes to get them to this point. I have struggled with it so much, that all I have written is this teaser, which has been rewritten countless times. I decided that I just needed to pick a direction and go with it. So bear with me while I dangle it as a carrot to motivate myself. I am just putting it out there. Hopefully I'll be able to chase it down.**

**Guns A Blazin'**

Luke hovered behind the counter, coffee pot at hand, as Lorelai systematically demolished the jack cheese omelet that she had brow-beaten out of him earlier. He watched Rory and Dean stand up and shoulder their backpacks, and he knew his time had come. As they made their way to the door, Luke saw Lorelai rummaging through her purse for her wallet. "Showtime," he muttered as he poured some coffee into a to-go cup, pushing the lid on as he crossed the room in a four long strides.

Lorelai looked up in surprise and said, "How did you know?"

"Sixth sense," he answered as she reached out to accept the cup.

"Wow, do you see dead people too?"

"Yes. Jimmy Hoffa says 'Hi' and that you look good in that color," Luke said dryly.

Lorelai beamed up at him and said, "That Jimmy, such a sweet guy."

Luke shrugged. "That's what all the mob guys said."

"You going back to the four slice French toast tomorrow?"

"You bet," Luke answered with a nod.

"My very special omelet was great," she said with a grin. She waved her wallet at him. "Check, please."

"It's on me," Luke said gruffly.

"It is?"

Luke shrugged again and said, "You and Rory helped me out a lot in the past couple of weeks."

Lorelai stared up at him, her face filled with concern as she said, "I haven't seen you around much. You okay?"

Luke nodded and said, "I'm fine. I've just had a lot of stuff to sort through."

Lorelai wrinkled her nose and asked sympathetically, "Louie stuff?"

"Some, and some other stuff," Luke answered cryptically. He tapped his fingertips on the table top, leaning toward her slightly. "Hey listen, would you like to have dinner tonight?" he asked in a rush.

"Dinner? Well, I planned on it," Lorelai answered with a grin as she nodded to the plates that littered the table. She shoved her wallet back into her purse and gestured to the table as she said, "I hear the price is right."

"No, I mean, have dinner with me, not have me make you dinner. Although, I could make you dinner, but we'd have to eat it upstairs and Jess is always upstairs, which would kind of defeats the purpose," Luke rambled nervously.

"Eat dinner with you? Is it Thanksgiving already?" Lorelai asked with a confused frown.

"Nevermind," Luke grumbled as he started to turn away.

"Hey, hang on!" Lorelai said as she grabbed his arm to keep him from walking away. "Give me a second, here. It's not every day that you ask me to have dinner with you. What's up?" she asked, tightening her grip on him.

"Nothing's up. I just wanted to talk to you about some stuff, and I thought that we could do it someplace that was, uh, not here," Luke said in an exasperated tone.

"Okay, yeah, sure, I like dinner. Where?" she asked as she scanned his face, searching for a clue as to what was going on with him.

"Um, Silvanos?" he offered tentatively.

Lorelai's eyebrows shot up as she said, "Silvanos? Wow, fancy. Sure, I'm in." She stood up, still clutching his arm as she asked, "What time?"

"I'll swing by your place at about six-thirty?" Luke said questioningly.

"Six-thirty," Lorelai repeated with a nod. "It's a date," she said as she released his arm and started for the door. Luke watched her go, wondering if she realized that it actually was a date.

The bells jingled as she opened the door and then paused with her hand on the handle. As if reading his mind, Lorelai turned back to Luke with a confused frown and asked, "Is it?"

"Yes," he answered simply.

"Oh," Lorelai said as her eyes widened. She opened her mouth to speak, but instead gaped at him like a fish gasping for air. Lorelai blinked, and shook her head slightly to clear it. "Uh, okay, um, I'll see you at six-thirty," she said, and then quickly fled.

****

Luke spent the rest of the morning replaying their conversation over and over again in his head. He broke it down, rehashing every word, analyzing every inflection, and pondering each expression on her face. He moved through the lunch rush on auto-pilot, delivering the wrong plates to the wrong tables, refilling iced tea with iced water, dropping utensils, two plates and a mug. By the time the diner had cleared out, it was also clear to him that he hadn't been clear with her. He thought he had been; asking her to have dinner with him specifically, but Lorelai definitely hadn't caught on. He kept thinking about the stunned look on her face when he confirmed that his invitation to dinner was indeed a date. He couldn't help dwelling on the speed with which she had made her exit.

He felt his heart clench as he realized that, all of the build up, all of the reasoning that had prompted him to take this step was all in his head. He realized that Lorelai hadn't been spending her days thinking about picnic baskets, bagel hockey and wishing she was 'the little missus' that he'd be bringing home to that stupid apartment. It finally occurred to him that he was the one doing all of the thinking. He was the one focused on how comforting her presence was; her hand through his arm, her body warm and steady as she stood by him at Louie's funeral. He was the one who knew how happy he was to have her there at his side.

"Trapped like a rat," Luke murmured as he carried an armload of dirty dishes into the kitchen.

"What's that boss?" Caesar asked distractedly as he cleaned off the prep area.

Luke stopped, the plates in his hands shifting precariously at the knowledge that if he knew Lorelai as well as he thought he did; she wouldn't back out now even if she wanted to, just out of sheer stubbornness. "Uh, I said, I'll be right back," Luke said as he dumped the dishes into a tub to be rinsed and run through the dishwasher. "I'll get those when I get back," he called over his shoulder, and left the diner before he could change his mind.

Five minutes later, he walked into the Independence Inn to find Lorelai speaking to Michel and an older woman with an accent, whom Luke assumed was one of the surly Frenchman's relatives. Michel and his friend bid Lorelai adieu, and Luke stepped aside as they swept through the lobby to the front door, cooing affectionate insults to one another. He walked over to the desk apprehensively. "Hey," he said quietly.

Lorelai's head jerked up, and she dropped the papers she had been reading, one of the sheets drifting to the floor unnoticed. "Oh, hey," she said, clearly flustered by his sudden appearance.

Luke hesitated momentarily as he glanced around the deserted lobby, wringing his hands nervously. "I just wanted, I mean, I realized that I didn't," he stammered at first. When Lorelai blinked expectantly, he rushed on, "I thought I was being clear, but I guess I wasn't, and then I thought maybe I should give you a chance to get out of it."

When Lorelai said nothing, he felt a flicker of hope as he stepped closer to the desk, placing his palms flat against the surface as he leaned in. "I've been thinking a lot this past week," he said in a low voice. "You and I, we've always had this… something," he said as he lifted his hands to gesture futilely between them.

"Luke," Lorelai whispered as she lowered her eyes and a faint blush rose in her cheeks.

Luke took the blooming color in her cheeks and his whispered name as a confirmation. Emboldened, he said quietly but firmly, "I'm in love with you, Lorelai. I have been for years." When her eyes flashed to his, he shrugged and said simply, "I don't want to hide it anymore. I don't want to ignore it. I just want to be with you."

Lorelai swallowed the lump that rose in her throat as she ducked her head, averting her face as it flamed. "I don't know how to respond to that," she confessed softly.

Luke licked his lips nervously and then caught the bottom one between his teeth as he watched her carefully. "You don't have to say anything right now. I just, I decided well, I wanted to put it out there. It's time," he said as he shrugged slightly.

When she didn't move a muscle, he took a deep breath to steady himself. "Tell you what, I'll swing by your place at about six-thirty, if you decide that you're okay with this, we'll go. If not, um, just give me a call, or don't answer the door or something. I'll get the hint either way," he said with a brisk nod, and then turned to leave without waiting for her confirmation.

Lorelai looked up at the front door closed behind him and pressed her fingertips to her cheeks, absorbing the heat from her flushed skin as she tried to absorb the words he had just said to her.


	2. Spurs A Jinglin'

**Spurs A-Jinglin'**

Lorelai slowly lowered her hands, her jaw dropping as she stared at the door. She blinked slowly and then whispered, "It's time?" Realizing that she had spoken the words aloud, she glanced around the deserted lobby and then took a deep breath, trying to calm her hammering heart. "What's that supposed to mean? It's time?" she muttered as she bent down to retrieve the sheet of paper that had drifted to the floor. She placed the sheet atop the others she had been reviewing and then pressed her hand firmly on the stack, holding them down as if they would spontaneously leap from the desk. She shook her head slightly, trying to dislodge the sound of Luke's voice, deep and husky as he said, 'I'm in love with you, Lorelai. I have been for years.' She lifted a trembling hand to her lips and glanced at the front door again.

"Hey Lorelai, I think I'm going to start with the low numbers and work my way up today," Kelly said as she ducked behind the front desk to retrieve the master key. "Oh, and you may need to talk to Manny about the linens again. It seems like we're losing hand towels and washcloths," she reported as she started to ward the steps.

"Kelly, wait!" Lorelai called. "Can you," she started as she hurried out from behind the desk. "Would you just keep an eye on things up here for a minute," Lorelai said as she held up one finger and hurried toward the kitchen door.

"Uh, sure, okay," Kelly said as she glanced down at her maid's uniform and then walked hesitantly to the desk.

"You're the best," Lorelai said in a rush as she pushed through the door.

"Who the hell does he think he is?" she demanded as she burst into the kitchen.

Sookie looked up at the sous chef that stood next to her with a befuddled frown and said, "He's Pedro, remember?"

"Who does he think he is? He decided it's time? He decided? He doesn't just get to decide!" Lorelai ranted, flinging her arms out to her sides.

"Get the pastry shells," Sookie murmured to Pedro from the side of her mouth. As Pedro hurried to move the trays of delicate pastry away from Lorelai's outstretched arms, Sookie stepped over and asked in an overly calm tone, "Who decided, honey? What did who decide?"

"He can't do that!" Lorelai said as she shook her head vehemently. "He doesn't just get to decide that it's time, ask me out to dinner and then come in here and tell me that he's in love with me. In love, Sookie!"

"Who's in love with you?" Sookie asked, her voice rising in frustration

"We didn't even have dinner! He couldn't even wait until dinner? Maybe tell me over dessert? Break the big news to me over a nice slice of cheesecake? He has to just march in here and tell me something like that? What gives him the right? Who said that he could decide?" Lorelai demanded.

"Work with me, sweetie," Sookie cajoled.

"We are not dating! We are not in love! He doesn't just get to decide! What if I say it isn't time? What if I say there is no 'something'?" Lorelai said, gesturing wildly as she paced the room.

"Hide the knives and get everyone out of here," Sookie murmured to a stunned Pedro. She watched as the rest of the staff followed Pedro out into the lobby, and then reached out to grasp Lorelai's arms firmly and held her still. "Talk to me," she said quietly.

Lorelai looked down at Sookie's hands for a moment, and when she lifted her head again, her eyes were filled with tears. "It changes everything, Sook. It ruins everything!"

"What does?" Sookie asked worriedly.

"He can't be in love with me," Lorelai whispered.

"Who can't, honey?"

"Luke."

Sookie's eyebrows shot up, but she tried to remain calm as she asked, "Luke Danes?"

"Yes, yes, Luke!" Lorelai said, getting agitated again. She pried her arms from Sookie's hands and wrung her hands as she began to pace again. "Why, Sookie? Why?"

"Why is he in love with you?" Sookie asked cautiously.

"Why is he doing this?" Lorelai cried plaintively.

"Okay, well, I only have part of the story, I think, but I definitely get the part about Luke being in love with you," Sookie said as she tried to puzzle it all out. When Lorelai glared at her, Sookie winced and asked, "So, Luke asked you to dinner?"

"Yes."

"And you said?" Sookie asked leadingly.

"Well, I said yes, but I didn't know it was a date!" Lorelai said defensively.

"Because you and Luke have dinner together all of the time?" Sookie asked incredulously.

"I just thought that he wanted to take me out to dinner, you know, as a thank you or something for helping out with his uncle's funeral."

"Okay, so you said you would have dinner with him."

"Yeah, and then I kind of half-jokingly asked if it was a date, and he said yes! Yes, Sookie!" Lorelai cried in frustration.

"And what did you say when he said yes?" Sookie asked, still trying to catch up.

"I didn't know what to say! I just said okay or something, and then came here!"

"Okay, so Luke asked you out, you said yes, he confirmed that it was a date, and you agreed," Sookie said with a nod.

"Well, what was I supposed to say?" Lorelai demanded indignantly.

"I'm just trying to get the story," Sookie retorted. "When did the, um, how did he tell you that he loves you?"

"No, not just that he loves me, Sookie. He's _in_ love with me. Has been for _years_," Lorelai said emphatically.

"Wow, okay, wow," Sookie said softly. "Okay, how did he tell you that he's in love with you?"

"I was just out there, doing some paperwork, and then next thing I know, he's standing there! He tells me that he thought he was being clear, and realized that he wasn't, so he wanted to give me a chance to get out of it. And then, all of a sudden, he's telling me that he's in love with me!" she said as she pressed her palms to her temples and squeezed. "Oh my God, I can't breathe," she gasped.

Sookie sprang into action, pulling Lorelai over to one of the stools and rummaging through the drawers for a paper bag. She pulled one out and opened it with a flick of her wrist. "Here, honey," she said as she held the bag up for Lorelai to breathe into.

"I'm okay," Lorelai said as she tried to brush the bag away.

"Okay, okay," Sookie said, nodding as she tried to process everything that Lorelai had told her. "Well, okay, so Luke is in love with you. That's not really a surprise, is it?" she reasoned. "I mean, come on, it's been pretty obvious for a while. And, you can't pretend that you didn't know," Sookie said firmly as she pointed to Lorelai. "I've told you, everyone has told you, and now Luke has told you."

"Not helping, Sook," Lorelai groaned as she buried her face in her hands.

"What?" Sookie asked innocently. "It's out there. And don't try to act like you don't have feelings for him too," she added with a stubborn lift of her chin.

"Feelings?" Lorelai asked as she raised her head. "Yeah, friend feelings!"

Sookie snorted and said, "Yeah, right."

"What?" Lorelai asked, her eyes wide with righteous indignation.

"Please, Lorelai, I've seen you with him," Sookie cried, getting aggravated by her friend's deliberate denial.

"Seen me what with him?" Lorelai snapped.

"Sweetie, this has been a long time coming for the both of you," Sookie said in a gentler tone. "Come on, you defend him when Jess is acting like a jerk, you guys are always talking or teasing or flirting. You went on a sleigh ride with him, he bought your basket. Something goes wrong here or at the house, you call Luke. He needs help with an apartment or a funeral, he calls you."

"We're friends, Sook," Lorelai said as she shook her head adamantly.

"Lorelai, he went and bought a building because of you, and kept it because of you," Sookie insisted. "Guys just don't do that. Friends just don't do that!" She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself. "I'm just saying that you guys have gotten a lot closer lately," she said cautiously as gently touched Lorelai's arm. "A lot closer. You count on each other. And, you know, given the feelings he had for you before, it's only natural that he might see this as being more."

"Maybe," Lorelai conceded petulantly.

"And I think, maybe, you might have been feeling a little of that too," Sookie added, cocking her head to look her friend in the eye.

"No," Lorelai said too quickly.

"Really?" Sookie asked skeptically. "You have never once looked at Luke and wondered what it would be like to be with him?" she asked in a voice laden with doubt.

"Not really," Lorelai hedged.

"You have never looked into those big blue eyes and wondered? You never thought about what that scruffy stubble would feel like if you kissed him? You have never, once, in all of these years, been tempted to reach out and touch that fabulous ass?" Sookie asked incredulously.

"Sounds like someone here has a little crush on Luke," Lorelai said evasively.

Sookie laughed and said, "I'm not dead. The guy is gorgeous. I would have bet that there is probably not a woman in town over ten and under a hundred that hasn't checked Luke out. Are you the only one, Lorelai?" she asked with a smirk.

"He's a good looking guy," Lorelai admitted reluctantly.

"He's hot," Sookie corrected.

"Does Jackson know you have the hots for Luke?" Lorelai retorted.

"I am just stating the facts," Sookie said as she held up her hands. "You don't think of Luke that way because you won't let yourself," she accused.

"I have to get back out front," Lorelai said as she slid from the stool.

"You know I'm right," Sookie said as she followed Lorelai to the door. "You think he's attractive, you care about him a lot, you count on him, and you trust him. Not just with you, but with Rory too," Sookie said in a rush to get her point across. "So, here's this hot, sweet, responsible, trustworthy, good guy," she said as she clanged both fists over her heart. "A guy who even cooks, and makes what you say is the best coffee in the world, and he's telling you that he's in love with you." When Lorelai turned to say something to her, Sookie just shook her head to stop her.

"He's in love with you, Lorelai," she said softly. Lorelai closed her mouth and swallowed hard as she felt her heart skip a beat. "If that's not what you want, if all of that isn't enough for you, I think, maybe, you're setting your standards a little too high, that's all I'm saying," Sookie said as she rubbed Lorelai's arm soothingly and then gave it a little pat.

"Uh, Lorelai?" Kelly called as she opened the kitchen door a crack. "I don't really know what to do out here."

Lorelai opened the door and looked out to see the kitchen staff huddled together just outside the door and an older couple waiting to check in at the desk. She turned to look at Sookie and said, "I have to get back to work. Thanks, Sook," she added brusquely and headed for the desk.

****

He couldn't help himself. Each time he stepped out of the kitchen, Luke eyed the phone warily, waiting for it to ring. As the afternoon dragged on and the phone remained silent, he felt that tiny flame of hope that had fueled his earlier confession flutter and grow stronger. By five forty-five he decided that he was tempting fate by remaining in the diner. He handed his spatula over to Caesar and headed for the curtain that shielded the steps to his apartment from the public eye. He climbed the stairs, wincing at the music he heard blaring through the apartment door. As soon as he stepped inside, he looked over at Jess' area and saw that his nephew was crashed out with a book open on his chest. In an attempt to avoid any conversation which may lead to having to explain where he was going, Luke didn't bother to turn the stereo down, knowing that doing so would wake Jess. Instead, he walked to his closet and started to pull hangers from the rod. After a brief debate, and a stop at his dresser, Luke carried his clothes into the bathroom to start getting ready.

As the water in the shower warmed up, he stripped off his flannel and t-shirt, taking the ball cap with them, dumping the entire wad of clothing carelessly on the floor. He bent to unlace his boots and then reached for the buckle on his belt as he straightened and caught sight of himself in the mirror. Luke paused, running his hand absently over the two day's growth on his cheeks as he inspected his reflection carefully. "I can't believe you said that," he whispered to himself. He shook his head quickly to clear it and finished undressing. He stepped into the shower, and shivered slightly before adjusting the taps and pulling the curtain closed behind him. He stood with his head bowed, letting the spray beat down on his neck and shoulders, his hand braced against the cool tile wall as he thought of everything that had led him to this moment. Carrot sticks offered in lieu of French fries, Lorelai's fingertip trailing along his cheek, her breath warm in his ear as she called him Snuffy.

He reached for the shampoo and tried not to think of the faint scent of coconuts that enveloped him as surely as her arms had at Rory's sixteenth birthday party. As his fingers massaged the shampoo through his hair Luke wondered what it would feel like if they were hers. He closed his eyes and saw her kneeling behind the counter, her eyes bright and dancing as they locked on his and he was lost. It was just one a million moments just like that. He was caught, irrevocably ensnared by her gravitational pull. He leaned in, and he would swear until his dying day that she did too, he just knew she had. Luke smoothed the lather from his hair, running his fingers through it, chasing the bubbles away until it squeaked through his fingers. He opened his eyes, blinking away the water that clung to his lashes as he tried to focus on the task at hand. He was getting ready to take Lorelai Gilmore to dinner. A date. A first date with a woman he had loved secretly for years, and not so secretly for the last four hours. And she hadn't called to cancel.

He reached for the soap and quickly began to wash, scrubbing himself clean, preparing himself for a fresh new chapter with the girl that had haunted his days and nights for longer than he cared to admit. But he had admitted it. And, at that moment, he didn't feel even the slightest pang of regret. After Louie's funeral, he had thought long and hard about what he wanted and what he didn't want. The second list was much longer then the first. He didn't want to be alone. He didn't want to be a surly, lonely, bitter old man. He didn't want people to have to be shamed into coming to his funeral. He didn't want to care more about the stuff he was taking with him than the people he had left behind. He didn't want to miss out on having someone in his life; someone who would be there for him, someone he could be there for, always. But most importantly, he didn't want to die knowing that he didn't even try.

All of these thoughts played through his head as he sorted through Louie's affairs, trying to dispose of the detritus that hadn't traveled into the afterlife with the old man. He had fielded countless phone calls from worthless relatives who couldn't be bothered to attend the services, but still wanted to know if anyone had claimed his broken down furniture, a lamp with a peacock shade or a collection of rusting old beer cans. No one questioned the thousands of dollars of priceless memorabilia that he had buried with Louie, but yet, his sister had left no less than three messages wanting to know if Louie had still had the 'really cool old green glass ashtray in the brass stand thingy'. Those nights spent sorting through the remnants of his uncle's life had dispelled any bitterness he may have felt about Mickey, Joe and Willie's rookie cards buried beneath six feet of freshly turned earth. He didn't want those. All he wanted was a chance.

Luke knew that he had to give it a shot, bite the bullet and let the chips fall where they may, because if there was one thing that he knew with unflagging certainty, it was what he did want. More specifically, who he wanted. "Lorelai," he whispered her name aloud as he stood under the spray once more, watching the soap rush down his legs and swirl into the drain. He wanted to argue the carrot sticks versus French fry argument every day. He wanted impromptu potlucks with Sookie and Jackson, he wanted to build runways for her, and he wanted to listen to her wax poetic about their teeny tiny town as sleigh bells jingled through a snowy night. He wanted her to smile for him, only him, her face lit by the light of a blazing bonfire. There was one thing he knew for certain, he would never let her slip away like Max did, or walk away from her like that idiot Christopher did over and over again. All he wanted was Lorelai. He wouldn't even care if she answered the door in a damn Yankees cap every night, as long as he was the guy that got to come home to her. The way he figured it, there was no use in fighting it anymore, the heart wants what the heart wants.

He finished rinsing off and turned the water off with a flick of his wrists before he reached around the curtain and yanked his towel from the bar. He ran the towel roughly over his hair before using it to dry the rest of his body, and then wrapped it around his waist. He yanked the curtain back, stepped out of the tub and began to clean the steam from the mirror with the heel of his hand. Luke ran his fingertips over his beard again and eyed the electric shaver that sat on the shelf above the sink. Finally, he reached into the medicine cabinet, removed his shaving cream, a razor and a long neglected bottle of aftershave, and then lined each of the items up on the edge of the sink. Moments later, the water ran in the sink as he stared at his lather covered face.

Carefully, he scraped the razor down his right cheek, trying not to focus too hard on the actual shaving itself, afraid that he would slice himself to pieces with an unsteady hand. Instead, he focused on the evening to come, keeping his eyes on the prize. Anyone who truly knew him would know that the events of the day had been almost entirely pre-meditated. Not necessarily the timing, he conceded with a slight smirk, but the intentions. There were very few things in life that Luke Danes did strictly on impulse. He had planned to ask her to dinner. He had planned to tell her straight out how he felt about her. It was just that he planned for those two happenings to be happening at the same time. As it was, he had lost the handle on the second part, laying his feelings out on the reservation desk, and practically begging for a rejection there and then. When it hadn't come, he was more relieved than he cared to admit. When that stupid phone that had been taunting him all afternoon remained silent, he was more nervous than he ever thought he could be.

He finished shaving with only one minor nick. He stretched the muscles in his face, sucking in a breath between his teeth as the alcohol in the aftershave bit into his skin, and then stuck a scrap of toilet paper to his chin to staunch the bleeding. He dragged the comb through his hair and let it air dry as he dressed quickly, tucking his blue shirt into his black dress pants, and debating whether he should attempt a tie or not. He opted not to, deciding that his leather jacket would be dressy enough for Silvano's. Luke opened the bathroom door and stepped out into a wall of sound that nearly made his ears bleed. He moved to his dresser again and rooted through the top drawer for a pair of dress socks. As he sat on the edge of his bed to pull the socks and his shoes on, he listened carefully for any sign of life from Jess' side of the apartment, cringing as heard only the sound of wailing guitars. "Man, that stuff is crap," he muttered as he set to work on his socks and shoes. By the time he had tied the second set of laces, he was convinced that his nephew was still out cold.

Quietly, he strapped on his watch, loaded his wallet and keys into his pants pockets, removed his jacket from its hanger, and crept toward the apartment door. His hand was on the doorknob when he heard Jess call, "Where are you sneaking out to, pretty boy?"

"Out. Don't wait up," Luke answered tersely.

"Wait, wait! You mean 'out' as in 'out on a date'?" Jess asked with a smirk. "Do we need to have the talk, Uncle Luke?"

"Can it," Luke growled as he yanked the door open.

"Aren't you gonna tell me who the lucky girl is? Hey, remember, no glove no love!" Jess called out with a laugh as Luke closed the door a little too forcefully behind him, the frosted glass rattling in its ancient frame.

"Like I'd tell you anything," Luke muttered under his breath as he headed down the stairs.

He walked straight out of the back door and into the alley where his truck was parked. Jiggling his keys in his hand, he checked his watch, only to see that he would have to drive around for about ten minutes before it would be an acceptable time to knock on Lorelai's door. He glanced at the back door of the diner and debated whether it would be better to go back in and endure the possibility of more of Jess' ribbing, or to go wander the streets aimlessly. He blinked as he realized that it was a no-brainer, and unlocked the driver's door. He sighed as he cranked the ignition and the old pick up roared to life. Jess was a complication that he couldn't deal with at the moment.

Luke shifted into first gear and began to creep down the narrow alley. Lorelai and Jess did not see eye to eye. For his part, Luke had tried to turn a blind eye to the animosity between them, hoping that they would warm up to each other eventually. Unfortunately, Jess did not make it easy for anyone to warm up to him. That is, anyone other than Rory. He turned down Plum Street and drove slowly through the fruit streets, letting his mind wander. Luke was not totally unaware of his nephew's interest in Rory, nor could he honestly say that he blamed the kid. Not only was Rory sweet and smart, she was also a very pretty girl. Not stunning and vivacious like her mother, but a quieter kind of pretty. But, Rory had a steady boyfriend, and that seemed to be that.

As he turned down Walnut and began to cruise the tree streets, Luke admitted to himself that although he didn't approve of his tactics, he had to give Jess a certain amount of credit for seeing the girl he wanted and setting out to worm his way into her life. Luke could also admit that watching his nephew inch closer and closer to Lorelai's daughter had spurred him on a bit. He didn't view it as inspiration necessarily, but more of a pre-emptive strike. He had sat back for too long, watched too patiently, and bit his tongue for too many times, just waiting for things to be right. There was no way he was going to let some little wannabe thug throw a wrench in the works now, not when things had been going so well.

He glanced at his watch again, and sighed when he realized that he had criss-crossed the entire town and still had another five minutes to kill. He hooked a right and headed toward the opposite end of town. Methodically, he worked the grid of streets back and forth, slowly wending his way closer and closer to her door. When he turned into her driveway, he smiled, pleased to see that he was almost a full thirty seconds late. "Wouldn't want to seem too anxious," he murmured as he parked behind her Jeep and looked up at the house.

He shook his head as he noted that every light in the place was blazing away. His eyes flickered up to her bedroom window as he opened the door, but he saw no play of shadow behind the curtains. He let the door close carelessly behind him and he made his way to the steps; keeping his hands buried deep in his pants pockets, trying desperately to look as if he were completely at ease, just in case she peeked out of one of the windows.

He knocked on the front door, and then quickly returned his hand to his pocket, where he immediately began to jingle his keys. "Yeah, that's smooth," he muttered as he craned his neck a little, trying to peer through the frosted glass. When no one answered the door, he glanced at his watch and then back over his shoulder, double checking to be sure that he actually had seen the Jeep parked in its usual spot. He waited another endless minute and then knocked again, this time a little louder. This time he stared straight ahead, his eyes boring into the opaque glass as he tried desperately to ignore the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

When this knock went unanswered, he took a step back, his breath hitching in his chest. He ducked his head, blinking rapidly as he struggled to believe that she actually wasn't going to answer the door. It seemed a little too cruel for Lorelai, even if she did feel that he had rooked her into this date. He forced himself not to peep into the living room windows as he waited, counting off a full sixty seconds in his head. Finally, his shoulders slumped as he took his hands from his pockets and turned back to the porch steps.

His feet felt leaden as he descended the first two steps, and then suddenly his sense of self-preservation kicked in. He felt his knees tense as coil almost of their own accord, and before his brain could register the action, he leapt from the steps, landing solidly on the grass below. He pulled his keys from his pocket as he hurried across the lawn, desperate to be anywhere but there. His mind raced ahead as he wondered what the hell he was going to do for the next two or three hours to keep from having to answer Jess' questions if he were to show up back at the apartment.

Just as Luke reached for the door handle, he heard Lorelai call out, "Luke, wait!" and froze in place.


	3. Back at the OK Corral

**Back at the OK Corral**

Luke reached for the door handle, but froze when he heard Lorelai call out, "Luke, wait!"

Without removing his hand from the handle, he turned to see her standing on the porch, her arms crossed over her chest. He took in her worn jeans, stretched out hooded sweatshirt and striped toe socks and quickly deduced that she had no intention of keeping their date. Without a word, he yanked hard, wrenching the door open with a loud groan of aged hinges.

"Luke," she called again as she hurried down the steps and across the yard.

"Just forget it! Forget I said anything," he growled.

"Luke, please," she said as she reached out to touch his arm.

Luke shook her hand off as he whirled to face her, his eyes blazing with hurt and anger. "You were really just gonna let me stand there and knock like some kind of moron! Hell, you did! God, I'm an idiot! Was it funny for you, Lorelai? Did you and Rory sit on the couch and have a good laugh?" he demanded. "You know, I know that you can be a little thoughtless at times, but I never, ever thought that you would be that cruel," he said in a low harsh voice.

"Luke, it's not like that…" she started to say.

"You've had your fun for the night," he said as he turned away and started to get into the truck.

"Luke, no!" Lorelai cried as she wrapped both hands around his arm and pulled as hard as she could. She dug her heels into the soft grass, and leaned back with her full weight, desperate to keep him from getting into the driver's seat.

"Let go, Lorelai," he said gruffly.

"Please, Luke, please," she said urgently.

"What?" he asked as he whirled to face her again. "What could you possibly have to say to me?" he asked, as he looked anywhere but directly at her, hating the way his voice cracked and gave him away.

Lorelai looked up at him, noting the tiny scab on his chin where the blood had clotted, and the smooth planes of his cheeks, freshly shaven and soft. A hint of his aftershave tickled her nostrils, as the dark fringe of his eyelashes swept down a moment too late to hide the pain in his eyes. Knowing that she had put it there felt like a knife twisting in her gut. She released his arm and reached up; her palm warm and soft on his smooth cheek, as her fingertips skimmed his furrowed brow, aching to smooth the lines away. When he raised his eyes questioningly, Lorelai whispered, "I fell asleep."

Her fingertips trailed over his cheek, making their way to his jaw as if memorizing the shape of his face. "I can see your face," she whispered.

"What?"

"All smooth, so soft. Have I ever seen your face before?" she murmured as she leaned in and pressed her lips to his experimentally. She pulled back slowly, the tender skin of his bottom lip clinging to hers for a moment longer. "I'll have to tell Sookie about the stubble some other time," she murmured. Lorelai leaned in again and kissed him firmly; winding her arms around his neck and pressing him back against the side of the truck.

This time, Luke was more than ready. One hand grasped her waist, steadying her against him as the other found its way to her neck. His fingers curling into the tangled coconut scented strands at her nape as he kissed her back, pouring his frustration and confusion into the kiss. His hand slipped from her waist to the small of her back, pressing her to him as he angled his head and deepened the kiss, parting her lips with his.

Lorelai sighed into his mouth as the tip of his tongue danced over her lower lip, her fingertips grazing his neck and coming to rest at the base of his throat, stroking the smooth skin that peeped through the open collar of his shirt. She made a soft mewing sound in her throat as his tongue found hers. Confusion gave way, and frustration flamed into desire. Lorelai clung to his shoulder, her fingers digging into the butter soft leather of his jacket as he kissed her right down to her toes; teasing and tasting, devouring and demanding more. His fingers splayed in her hair and he cradled the back of her head in his palm, providing much needed support. Her senses were flooded with him, this man she saw each and every day, but had never seen quite this way. His woodsy aftershave mingled with the light floral scent she had applied that morning, and the heady concoction made her knees weak. His skin was smooth and surprisingly warm and soft. She could feel his heart beating against her breasts, the blood rushing beneath the pads of her fingers, the strength of his muscles tensed and hard, unyielding as they molded to her softer curves. His hands were firm and sure as he held her, one splayed in her hair and other on her back tracing small circles through her sweatshirt that were driving her wild.

"Luke," she gasped as she tore her mouth from his and gulped in a much needed lungful of oxygen.

Undeterred, Luke lower his lips to her jaw, kissing his way up to her ear and drawing the soft lobe into his mouth, capturing it between his teeth with a throaty moan that sounded more like a growl. He gathered her mass of dark curls into his hand and then let them slip and slide slowly through his fingers. "I fell asleep," she whispered to the darkening sky as she let her head fall back into his palm, giving herself over to the waves of heat that coursed through her body. "I was just going to relax a bit," she murmured as he blazed a trail of hot, wet kisses down to her neck. "Oh God," she moaned as he drew her creamy skin into his mouth, laving it with his tongue. "Long day, strange day. Came home early. Confused, worried," she panted as she buried her hand in his hair, holding him there. "Don't stop," she whispered as her nails scraped lightly over his scalp.

Fueled by her whispered words, Luke scraped his teeth gently over the pulse that throbbed in her throat. "Not stopping now," he growled against her skin.

"I was going to go, I was going to go," she assured him, fisting her hand in his hair.

Luke raised his head, his chest heaving as their eyes met and held for a moment. Lorelai stood immobile, stunned by the intensity of his gaze until his eyes fell to her mouth. She lifted her hand from his shoulder, and pressed her fingertips to her swollen lips. Luke leaned in and brushed the barest of kisses across her fingers, and she lowered her hand, her eyes closing as her lips sought and found his once again. Her fingers gripped the lapel of his jacket, pulling him closer as she opened her mouth to welcome him again, kissing him fervently as her body moved against his, desperate to get closer to the heat emanating from his every pore.

They were so lost in one another that neither heard a door open and Babette calling, "Apricot! Mama has your tuna, baby girl!"

Luke's blood pounded in his ears as hand slid down, caressing her denim covered bottom, pulling her closer still. Lorelai circled her hips in a mindless dance of need, moaning into his mouth as their tongues battled and she wantonly ground against his straining arousal. Lips, teeth and tongues clashed and then meshed as the rest of the world fell away.

"Oh my God!" Rory gasped as she stared wide eyed at her mother and Luke making out not ten feet from where she stood in the driveway.

"Well, Uncle Luke," Jess drawled as Lorelai stepped back, pressing her hands to Luke's chest to put at least an arms length of space between them. She blinked rapidly, trying to get her bearings.

"Oh my God! Morey! Lorelai and Luke and makin' out in the front yard!" Babette screeched as she stared transfixed in her doorway.

"Mom!" Rory said accusingly.

Jess shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans and rocked back on his heels. "I guess I don't have to snoop around to see who you got all gussied up for," Jess said with a smirk.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Luke snapped as he moved to stand behind the still open driver's door, using it as a shield until he could collect himself.

"I'd ask you the same thing, but I think the demonstration was pretty self-explanatory," Jess said with an enthusiastic nod.

"Rory," Lorelai said as she turned to her daughter, pressing her hands to her flaming cheeks.

"I dunno, I just came out to get the cat, and they were all over each other!" Babette screeched as Morey appeared in the doorway next to her.

"Was this the thing you had to do tonight?" Rory asked incredulously.

"Wow, she called you a thing, and you got all dressed up pretty. That has to hurt," Jess said to Luke, shaking his head sadly.

"Shut it," Luke ordered as he pointed to his nephew. He glared at Babette and Morey yelled, "Show's over! Beat it!"

Babette made a face and they quickly stepped back. Morey closed the door as Babette dove for the phone. "This is big! This is so big!" she crowed as she dialed Patty's number and then pulled a lacy curtain aside for a better view. "Damn forsythia bush is in the way," she muttered. "Morey! Come over here and give me the play by play," she yelled. "Hello, Patty? You're never gonna believe what I just saw!"

Lorelai turned to face Rory and tied to explain, "Luke asked me out to dinner."

Rory frowned at her mother's attire and asked, "At a truckstop?"

"No, at Silvano's."

"You're going to Silvano's dressed like that?" Rory scoffed.

"No! I fell asleep, okay? I fell asleep, and Luke came to pick me up and I didn't answer the door, so he was leaving and upset, so I ran out here and…" Lorelai tried to explain, the color flooding her cheeks once again as she trailed off.

"You kissed it and made it all better," Jess said knowingly.

"What are you doing here anyway?" Luke snarled at his nephew.

Jess shrugged and said, "Well, after I learned that our evening of male bonding wasn't gonna happen, I decided to go to the bookstore. Rory was coming out as I was going in, so I decided to do the gentlemanly thing and see her safely home. How were we supposed to know that when we got here you would be doing some very ungentlemanly things with her mother in the driveway?" he asked innocently.

"Get out of here," Luke growled as he stepped out from behind the door menacingly.

As Jess backed away he smirked and said, "Did you at least buy her dinner first?"

"Dammit Jess!" Luke roared.

"Rory," Lorelai said pleadingly.

"I was just trying to take her out to dinner," Luke said desperately.

Rory turned back to Lorelai and said, "I think when he says, 'Hi. Are you ready?' you're just supposed to say, 'Sure, let's go.' or something like that."

"Don't be mad," Lorelai said quickly.

"It's all my fault," Luke said as he stared down at his shoes. He rubbed the back of his neck and mumbled, "The whole day has been a disaster."

"A disaster? The whole day?" Lorelai asked pointedly.

Luke looked up and quickly said, "I just mean that things didn't go the way I planned."

"Listen, I'm not mad and this is none of my business," Rory said. She shook her head and began to back away toward the house. "Carry on," she called as she turned to hurry away. "I mean, don't carry on, but, you know, do what you were going to do. Ugh. Not that, but dinner," she muttered as she ran up the porch steps and into the house.

Lorelai stared after her daughter, her arms wrapped tightly around her stomach, her hands clenching the sides of her sweatshirt. "I should…" Lorelai said as she nodded to the house.

"Yeah," Luke answered, nodding as he ducked his head.

Lorelai turned back to him, her face softening as she took in his hunched shoulders. "Can we, uh," she started to say. "Maybe, tomorrow night?" she asked cautiously. "The dinner thing, I mean," she added quickly.

"You want to?" he asked hopefully.

"I'm sorry, was that not you?" she said with a short laugh as she pointed to the side of his truck.

"Lorelai, I didn't mean for that…"

"I know, me either," she said, cutting him off. "I didn't mean to almost stand you up," she said as she reached out and gently smoothed the lapel of his jacket.

"I wasn't sure," he said with a wince.

Lorelai smiled and admitted, "Neither was I. But, Luke, I would never have done something so, 'thoughtless' was it? Oh no, wait, 'cruel,' that was it," she teased.

Luke grimaced and muttered, "Gonna pay for that."

"Yep," she agreed with a nod. She leaned in, tipping her face up for a kiss.

Luke smiled and said, "Too dangerous."

"Just one more. A little one," she whispered coaxingly.

Luke kissed her gently, his thumb gliding across her jaw as his lips lingered against hers. "Do you want me to come in there?" he asked as she pulled back.

Lorelai smiled affectionately and then gave his arm a friendly pat. "No. Thanks, though." She sighed as she glanced back at the house worriedly, and then wrapped her arms around her stomach again. "She told me once that I couldn't date you," Lorelai confessed.

"Oh?" Luke asked, taken aback.

Lorelai smiled, softening the words. She reached out to run her fingers down the sleeve of his leather coat, unable to stop touching him now that she had started. "You were too important, to both of us. She didn't want to take that risk with you."

"Risk?"

Lorelai smirked and offered him her hand. "Hi, Lorelai Gilmore, dating disaster, have we met?"

Luke chuckled as he enveloped her hand in his and shook it firmly. "I don't have the best record myself," he said gruffly.

"We need to talk," she said quietly.

"I think that was the plan for dinner," Luke answered with a self-deprecating smile.

Lorelai nodded as she reluctantly withdrew her hand from his. "I should go in."

"I'll walk you to your door," Luke answered as he shoved his hands into his pants pockets and nodded to the porch.

Lorelai smiled as she glanced over at him and said, "Such a gentleman."

"Well, I had a little ungentlemanly behavior to make up for," he replied dryly.

Lorelai glanced over at him, a flattering pink flush creeping into her cheeks as they started up the steps. When they reached her door, she turned to look at him and said, "Sookie was right. My standards are probably a little too high."

When she saw his frown of confusion, Lorelai shrugged and glanced shyly at her sock clad feet. "You see, no guy ever quite fit the bill, because no one could be everything that my friend Luke is." She rubbed one foot on top of the other, brushing the grass and dirt from her sock. She looked up, meeting his dark blue gaze steadily. "I guess it's hard to measure up to the guy that the girl you're seeing is not supposed to want."

She opened the front door and slipped inside. "Night, Luke. See you tomorrow," she said, and closed it quietly behind her.

****

Lorelai paused in the foyer, waiting until she heard the sound of the truck's engine. She looked down at her ragged old sweatshirt and frowned in disgust. "You look fabulous," she muttered as she bent down and stripped off her grass covered socks. She wadded the socks into a ball and dropped them next to the coat rack before padding barefoot to Rory's door. Lorelai twice on the door, hoping to be heard over the music playing, and called, "Can I come in?"

"Yeah, come in," Rory answered.

Lorelai opened the door and leaned against the frame as she smiled wanly and said, "Hi."

"Hello," Rory replied, lifting an eyebrow in unspoken inquiry.

"He's gone," Lorelai said as she pushed away from the doorway and stepped cautiously into Rory's room. "Hon, about tonight," she began.

"Um, Mom, I'd rather not get into the gory details," Rory said quickly.

Lorelai shook her head vehemently and then tucked her leg beneath her as she sat down on the edge of Rory's bed. "No, no, nothing like that. I meant about dinner, with Luke."

"Ah yes, the thing you had to do," Rory answered with a smirk as she lowered the book she had been reading to her chest.

Lorelai tucked her hair behind her ear and said, "You see, here's the thing. When Luke asked me to dinner this morning, I didn't really think it was a date, but then…" She began to pluck absently at a loose thread on Rory's comforter as she searched for the right words. "Um, Luke, he said some things that made it pretty clear that he thought it was a date, and I, uh, I didn't really know what to do about that."

"What do you mean?"

"He kind of said, I mean, he told me that he had, um, feelings for me. More than friend feelings, you know? And I, I was a little, um, stunned," she finished lamely.

"Really? Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why were you stunned?" Rory asked in a perplexed tone. "It's not like Luke's, uh, feelings about you are any big secret."

"Okay, you know what? Fine, okay, I knew," Lorelai said impatiently.

"Mom, I'm not shocked that you want to date Luke. We've all been expecting it," Rory said with a shrug.

"Someone could have clued me in," Lorelai mumbled.

Rory rolled her eyes. "Well, we considered hiring a sky writer once, but it was cost prohibitive."

"Anyway, that's the story," Lorelai said as she stood up abruptly.

"Doesn't explain how you ended up making out like teenagers on the front lawn," Rory said pointedly.

Lorelai looked down at her daughter and asked, "You really want the gory details?"

"No!" Rory said as she picked up her book again and ducked behind it. When Lorelai laughed, she peeped over the top of the book and asked, "You going to try again?"

"Tomorrow," Lorelai answered with a nod.

Rory nodded slowly and said, "Well, you know the rules."

"I made the rules," Lorelai shot back as she walked to the door.

"No, the Luke rules," Rory said as she sat up a little straighter.

"Luke rules?"

Rory fixed her mother with a stern look and said, "You can't break his heart, he feeds us."

"Duly noted," Lorelai said with a solemn nod. "Sorry about the, uh," she said as she gestured to the front of the house.

"What? As far as I'm concerned nothing ever happened," Rory said primly as she pretended to read her book.

"Need a paddle?"

Rory shook her head and said, "Nope, I can navigate this river all on my own."

"Say 'Hi' to Pharaoh for me," she said as she pulled the door closed behind her.

Lorelai wandered into the living room and snatched the remote from the coffee table as she plopped down on the couch. She flipped through the channels without seeing a thing. Her stomach growled loudly, and she pressed her hand to it as she turned toward the kitchen. After giving up on both her x-ray vision and her telekinesis skills, Lorelai stood up and trudged toward the kitchen to see what might be leftover in the fridge. She stood with the door open, debating between four day old pizza and three day old Chinese, and wishing that she had the steaming plate of pasta that she should be having. She turned her head, glancing first at Rory's door and then at the telephone on the desk. She let the refrigerator door slam shut as she whirled around and headed for the desk.

Lorelai snatched the phone from its cradle and began to dial the diner without thinking. As Caesar answered the phone, Lorelai closed her eyes in frustration. "Sorry Caesar, its Lorelai. I was looking for Luke, but I forgot that he wasn't working tonight." she said quickly. "Hey, do you have the apartment phone number? I'm sure it's in my book, but…" she trailed off as she heard a familiar voice shouting in the background.

"Either order or get out, there's nothing to see here!" Luke bellowed.

Lorelai laughed and said to Caesar, "Hand me over to him, would you?"

"Here you go!" Caesar said in his usual chipper tone.

"What?" Luke snarled into the phone.

"I'm hungry, you were supposed to feed me," she whined.

"Lorelai?" he asked.

"Did you have another dinner date tonight?"

"I thought you were, you know, with Rory," he said in a low voice. "Is everything okay?"

"Everything is fine, except I'm starving," she answered.

"Well, you can't come here," Luke growled into the phone. "I have the smart ass upstairs and the lunatics down here."

"Wanna grab a pizza and hide out here?" she asked.

"Um," he said, hesitating as he glanced around the diner and noticed that Babette and Morey were suspiciously missing from the assembled townspeople. "I think you may still be under surveillance," he murmured into the phone. "And, that might be a little weird, with Rory."

"Oh," Lorelai said blankly. "I guess no place is safe," she said with a rueful chuckle.

"No place in Stars Hollow," Luke conceded.

"Okay, well, I should…" Lorelai glanced back at the refrigerator forlornly.

"We could skip town," he offered, his deep voice sending a shiver down her spine.

"Yeah?" she asked hopefully.

"If you wanted."

"I can be ready in about thirty minutes," she told with a decisive nod.

"Make it twenty and I'll let you order two desserts," Luke countered.

"I can make it fifteen if it's someplace dimly lit," she teased.

"Be there in ten minutes, I'll bring a flashlight," he said, and then hung up the phone with a decisive click.


	4. Ridin' Out

**A/N:** Wow! So much going on, and all of it exciting! First off, I have not abandoned _Packaged Goods_, there's just been a lot going on in Mags' world this week. I promise to get back to it as soon as I wrap _Straight Shootin'_ up. Okay! Do not miss this week's fabulous installment of the **Gilmore Girls Virtual Season 9**! Yes, that was a shameless pimp. Deal with it. The **Stocking Stuffer Author Auction** starts next Saturday, be there or be square. We can't let those Dr. Who fan's take over our little corner of the world! The **Stars Hollow Meet and Greet** scheduled for February 2009 in Kansas City is coming to fruition! For more information check out the thread in the General Gabbery section of TWoP. I can't wait to meet you guys, and to watch our favorite episodes of GG on the big screen! Squeee! Man, I'm exhausted now! I know! I'll take a healthy dose of Luke and lie down for a while… Good plan.

**Ridin' Out**

The flashlight wasn't necessary, the restaurant could be lit with neon, and Lorelai would be ordering only one dessert, but nonetheless, forty minutes later, Luke opened the passenger door and Lorelai slid onto the bench seat. After closing the door, he spent the twenty seconds it took to circle the truck coaching himself not to stare openly at the way the slit on her black skirt rode up and opened at mid-thigh. He slipped behind the wheel, jammed the key into the ignition and looked into the rearview mirror just in time to see Kirk trying to wrestle his bike from the hedges where he had hidden it.

"We have a tail," Luke grumbled as he shifted into reverse and began to back down the driveway.

Lorelai glanced over and spotted Kirk, standing as still as a statue among Babette's boxwoods and grinned. "Think you can lose him?"

Luke smirked and said, "It'll be tough, but I'll do my best."

He drove sedately through town, winding up and down a couple of side streets and smiling slightly as he let up on the accelerator to give Kirk a chance to close the gap a little. Lorelai grinned as she looked over her shoulder through the back window. "You are twisted, and I have to say, I like it," she told him with a laugh. She gave Luke's knee and encouraging pat and turned back to watch Kirk puffing away on his old ten-speed.

"Well, I have to give him a chance. Besides, I don't think his mom lets him go past the sign," he added as he nodded to the 'Welcome to Stars Hollow' sign.

Luke accelerated slightly as they passed the sign and Lorelai saw Kirk coast to a stop just short of the invisible boundary line. "Aw. Poor Kirk," she breathed sympathetically.

Luke shrugged and said, "Well, he tried."

Lorelai turned back in her seat and smiled as she studied his profile. "So, where are we going?"

"There's a little place in Litchfield, Italian, not as fancy as Silvano's, but the food is better," he said as he glanced over to gauge her reaction.

"Tiramisu?"

"Of course," Luke rolled his eyes.

"Then I say, let's go!" Lorelai answered happily. "Do they have drippy candles?"

Luke frowned as he thought for a moment and then said, "I'm not sure if they're drippy, but I think there are candles."

"We don't have a reservation," she pointed out.

"Made one. Had plenty of time," Luke drawled.

"Hey, I had to look good didn't I?" Lorelai asked indignantly.

"You always look good."

Lorelai smiled ruefully and said, "I wasn't looking so hot when you came to pick me up earlier."

Luke cut his eyes toward her as he asked, "Wanna bet?"

A pleased smile curved her lips as she scooted a little closer to him on the bench seat. "You look really good," she said as she reached over and patted his leg.

Luke's eyebrows shot up as she let her hand linger on his leg for a moment before pulling it away. He caught her hand and pulled it back, placing it on his thigh and covering it with his. "That's good right there," he said in a low voice.

Lorelai smiled shyly and said, "I think we're supposed to talk. I'm not sure that this is conducive to talking."

Luke kept his hand firmly atop hers and said, "You came out tonight, that's enough."

They lapsed into silence for a few minutes. Finally, Lorelai said, "I wasn't going to."

"I figured," Luke admitted.

"I just, I couldn't, you know, think about you that way," she said, stumbling over the words in a rush to get them out. When she saw his frown, she shook her head and said, "I mean, I did, but I didn't want to, I wasn't supposed to."

"Says who?" he countered.

"Well, me, mainly. And Rory," she said as she began to rub the soft material of his pants between her thumb and forefinger nervously. "You're important to both of us."

"Afraid I'll cut off the coffee supply?" he teased, trying to lighten the mood.

"That's part of it," Lorelai said with a grin. "Seriously, Luke…"

"I get it," he said, cutting her off.

"Do you?" she asked worriedly.

"Yeah. I had to think about this a lot, Lorelai," he told her in all seriousness. "You, well, you're probably the best friend that I have. I don't want to ruin that, but I can't help it. I want more," he said bluntly.

"More," Lorelai repeated as her eyes fell to his leg. Luke looked down quickly and then back up at the road. He signaled a right turn and pulled off of the state highway onto a deserted country road. Lorelai's eyes widened and she asked, "Taking me parkin', Butch?"

Luke pulled to the side of the road, put the truck in neutral and set the parking brake. He turned to her and stared at her solemnly as he said, "Let me be really clear, because I don't want any confusion." When she nodded mutely, Luke took a deep breath and said, "I meant what I said earlier, Lorelai. This thing we're doing here, me, you, I'm in. I'm all in."

"All in," she breathed, mesmerized by his deep blue eyes.

"All I want is a chance to be with you," he said quietly. "I think I can make you happy. At least, I'd try my best."

"Luke," she whispered as she reached out to touch his smooth cheek.

"And, you know I care about Rory. I'd never do anything to hurt her," he continued, turning to stare straight through the windshield.

"I know."

"And, I just, I don't want to wait anymore," he said as he gripped the steering wheel, his knuckles turning white as he fought the urge to reach for her. He turned to look at her. "I know that you probably don't feel the same way about me, but if you'd give it a chance…"

Lorelai cut him off, pressing her lips to his and kissing him tenderly. She pulled away, stroking his cheek with her thumb. "I thought that was why I was here," she said quietly.

Luke released the steering wheel and reached for her, burying one hand in her hair as he kissed her ardently. Lorelai moaned softly and parted her lips, and Luke's restraint snapped. His hand tightened on her waist, pulling her across the bench seat as he plundered her mouth. His tongue tangled with hers as his hand slipped from her waist to her thigh, his fingers tracing that tantalizing slit, gliding over her smooth skin. His hand fisted in her hair as he shifted, leaning into her and angling his head, desperate to get closer to her in any way he could.

Lorelai gripped his shoulder, her nails digging into his leather jacket as a flood of desire coursed through her veins. She fell back under his weight, trying to pull him down on top of her. She grunted in frustration as his coat caught on the gear shift and the momentum tore her mouth from his. "Luke," she whispered as he blinked and started to pull back.

Luke chuckled breathlessly and braced his hand on the seat as he said, "Dinner."

"Not hungry."

"Liar," he said as he shifted back into the driver's seat. He offered her his hand, and she sat up again.

Lorelai watched in disbelief as he released the parking brake and shifted the truck into first gear. "You're serious?"

"Lorelai, I just want to take you to dinner, and I'm beginning to think its never going to happen," he said, his frustration bubbling up a little. He pulled a u-turn and then stopped to check the traffic on the highway. He pulled into the lane, his jaw set firmly as he shifted, getting the old truck up to speed before reaching for her hand.

"Well, if you just want dinner, you shouldn't kiss me like that," she said petulantly.

Luke barked a laugh but kept his eyes fixed firmly on the road. "I'd better not kiss you at all then, because I can't not kiss you like that."

Lorelai blinked slowly as she stared at his profile. "So this is dating Luke," she commented mildly.

Luke smile was wry as he glanced over at her. "Not really. I don't usually go this far on the first date. I'm afraid that you might be getting the impression that I'm easy," he said, striving for a lighter tone.

"Are you?" she asked with a sassy smile.

"You may be a bad influence on me."

Lorelai's smile brightened. "I think I like that."

"Figured you would."

They lapsed into silence for a moment, and then Lorelai looked down at their clasped hands resting on the seat between them. "Is that Switzerland?" she asked.

Luke nodded and said, "Safer there."

"Funny, it feels like nothing should be safe right now, but it is," she murmured as she turned to look out the window.

"I'm not sure that I follow that," Luke said after digesting her words for a minute.

"It's all so new, so weird, but at the same time, not," Lorelai said with a shrug. "We're on a date, Luke. An hour or so ago, we were making out on my front lawn. Five minutes ago, we were making out in your truck. Doesn't that seem weird to you?" She flexed the fingers that he held firmly, and Luke loosened his grip slightly. Lorelai tightened hers again said, "This morning I systematically destroyed your special omelet and you asked me on a date. This afternoon I was signing off on an invoice for ten cases of toilet paper, and you told me, uh, what you told me," she said, glancing at him shyly.

Luke nodded, pressing his lips together. "How bad was the freak out?" he asked at last, peeking over at her nervously.

"Bad enough that Sookie had the paper bag out," she replied with a wan smile. When she saw the muscle in his jaw jump, she squeezed his hand. "Sookie talked me down. She pointed out that there were a few pros in your column. Turns out there were more pros than cons."

"There was a list?"

"Of course," Lorelai answered with a quick grin.

"Remind me not to mock the system again," he said as he smiled at her. Luke reluctantly released her hand and down shifted as he slowed for the turn off. "I guess I had a little more time to think it all out," he added gruffly.

"I was good for nothing for the rest of the day. I stood at the desk making that list, and I have to tell you, there was a little more of a freak out. The minute Tobin came in, I took off. I was going to call you and tell you that I couldn't come, not matter what this list said. Rory came home and started on her homework, I had the phone in my hand," she said as she watched his reaction carefully. "I sat down on the bed, and I heard the paper crinkle in my pocket. I just reread it over and over again, and I realized that I had to go," she said quietly.

"And then you fell asleep," he finished for her.

"I am nothing if not an excellent avoider," she said dryly.

Luke turned again, heading for the restaurant. "So, were you avoiding the call or the date?" he asked soberly.

"I don't know. Both, maybe?" she said honestly.

Luke nodded and signaled his turn into an open parking space. Once he had maneuvered the truck into the spot, he turned off the engine and turned to look at her. "I could take you home," he offered.

Lorelai shook her head and said, "I really don't think it would matter much at this point, do you?"

"I don't know," he answered quietly, glancing down at the keys in his hand. "It's completely up to you, Lorelai. I want this. I think I've made that pretty clear."

"You have," she said with a nod. "I want this too. It scares me, but I do," she admitted softly.

Luke nodded once and then reached for the door handle as he said, "Let's get you fed."

By unspoken agreement, they kept the conversation light as they were seated and perused the menu. Lorelai admired the tiny restaurant's clichéd décor, and tried to convince Luke that the diner needed checked tablecloths and the drippy candles that indeed graced each table. Luke ignored her suggestions, and then proceeded to order a bottle of wine with a confidence that surprised her. When she commented on it, he simply shrugged and said a little defensively, "What? I can drink good wine with good food."

"I always thought you were more of a beer guy," she answered calmly.

"I am," Luke freely admitted. "But wine is okay, you know, with a meal. I wouldn't just open a bottle to drink at home, but I can drink wine," he said, a faint blush rising in his cheeks.

"You aren't just trying to seduce me?" she asked teasingly.

Luke looked up from the menu. When he met her eyes, he smiled slowly and said, "It could be that too."

"Wow," Lorelai breathed as he heart skipped a beat.

"What?" he asked, shifting in his seat self-consciously.

Lorelai blinked in surprise and said, "Uh, nothing, it's just. Wow," she said again as she busied herself with the menu options. "Everything looks good," she commented quickly.

Once their wine arrived and their orders were placed, Luke lifted his glass and said, "Well, we got here."

Lorelai touched her glass to his and answered, "Took a little finagling, but yes."

Luke's eyes stayed locked on hers as she took a sip of the wine. Lorelai set the glass carefully on the table in front of her, making the utmost effort not to knock it over under his steady gaze. "You're making me nervous," she said with a flash of a smile.

"You look beautiful," he said simply. A blush rose in her cheeks as her eyes fell to her hands clasped in her lap.

Luke cleared his throat softly and then began to tell her about the phone calls he had been fielding from his relatives all week. Lorelai laughed and made comments as to the usefulness of each of the items that he described, watching as he grew more animated with each story. She wondered how she could have failed to notice how devastating his smile was. She tried to remember if she knew how deep his voice was, or how graceful his hands were as he gestured along with his words. She tried in vain to recall a time when she had ever heard him talk so much, and concluded that she hadn't. She carefully refrained from commenting on it, afraid that it would turn him back into the mono-syllabic Luke she had always known just when she found herself so fascinated with this new Luke.

Luke basked in her undivided attention, determined to hold onto it now that he finally had it. He struggled against his natural reticence, afraid to lose the tenuous hold he had on her. He rambled on and on, knowing that he was probably talking too much, but unable to stem the stream of words that flowed forth. He saw her lips curve into an amused smile as she took another sip of her wine. "I'm babbling," he concluded gruffly.

"You're not, I'm loving this," she assured him quickly.

"I never talk this much," he muttered as he toyed with the stem of his wine glass, pushing it in tiny circles on the tablecloth.

"I know, that's why I love it," Lorelai answered with a grin. She leaned forward and said in a conspiratorial tone, "You don't have to keep me entertained. I'm happy to be here."

"I thought you needed constant entertainment," he said as he quirked an eyebrow at her.

Lorelai's smile grew as she sat back again and said, "I do, and you are working so hard."

Luke blushed slightly and said, "It's not work with you. I like talking to you."

"And I like it when you talk to me," she said gently. "Ooh! Food," she said with a breathtaking smile as the waiter appeared at their table.

The conversation grew easier as they started on their entrees. Lorelai grinned as she told him about Michel's mother. "It's so weird, they're like best friends. All giggly and gossipy. Completely freaky," she said as she waved her fork dismissively.

Luke smirked as he watched her attack the giant portion of lasagna and said, "Not at all like you and Rory."

Lorelai looked up, surprised at his observation. "I never thought about that. I guess it's just weird for me to see someone my age getting along with their parents so well. Lord knows, I don't," she mumbled.

Luke cocked his head slightly and said, "Well, you get along with yours a little better now, don't you?"

Lorelai poked at her lasagna and said, "I guess, maybe." She smiled at him wanly and said, "Did I tell you that Rory is going to ask my dad to help her with this business project at school?"

Luke shook his head and said, "No, but that should be good. You mentioned that he isn't enjoying retirement as much as he thought he would."

"He's going crazy," Lorelai said as she took another sip of her wine.

Luke reached for the bottle and topped off her glass. "Well, they seem to be crazy about Rory."

"They are," Lorelai conceded.

"Hard not to be, she's a good kid. You've done well," he said as he toasted her with his glass.

"Thank you," she said softly. She smiled gratefully and said, "She makes it easy."

"She's still seeing that Dean kid?" Luke asked as he speared some penne with his fork.

"Yeah," Lorelai said with a slight frown.

Luke looked up sharply at her tone and quickly asked, "What? Is he being a jerk again?"

Lorelai shook her head vehemently and said, "No, no. Nothing like that. They're just going through one of those weird patches, you know?" She shrugged and said, "She's busy, and he's feeling a little neglected, I think."

Luke nodded and said, "Well, her school work is important to her. He should know that."

"Oh, he does," Lorelai said quickly, wondering if she should mention Jess and her suspicions about Rory's growing friendship with Luke's nephew.

"Jess messing with the guy can't help either," Luke said darkly.

Lorelai gaped at him for a moment. "You noticed that?" she asked, stunned.

Luke looked at her incredulously and said, "How could I not? He bought her basket."

"What do you think that's about?" she asked, leaning in with a worried frown.

Luke shook his head and said, "I don't know. Could have just been Jess wanting to stir up trouble."

"I think Jess had the bracelet that Rory lost. The one Dean gave her," Lorelai said in a rush.

"He took it?" Luke asked as he dropped his fork to his plate.

Lorelai shook her head and said, "I think maybe he found it, but I think he kept it. At least, he did until he saw how upset Rory was about it."

Luke rubbed his hands together, wringing his fingers lightly as he said, "I don't know what he's thinking. I don't know what to do with the kid."

"I'm not sure that there is much you can do at that age," Lorelai admitted reluctantly. "They're going to have to sort it out themselves."

"I'm not very good at this," Luke confessed in a low voice. "I'm trying, but I don't know what to do."

"You're doing the best you can, Luke," she assured him. "Jess is pretty much grown."

"I know. I just, I don't want him messing with Rory, but at the same time, I'm glad they're friends. Jess needs a friend, and I think Rory could be good for him, you know?" he said earnestly.

Lorelai saw the sincere concern on his face, and bit back her opinions on Jess and his attachment to Rory. "So, enough about them. How's your food? Good?" she asked a little too brightly as she returned her attention to her plate.

"I won't let him mess with her," Luke said quietly.

Lorelai looked up and smiled at him affectionately. "Oh Luke, I don't think that either of us gets a say in that."

Luke nodded and picked up his fork again. He speared another forkful of pasta and said, "Mine's good. Yours?"

"Delicious," Lorelai said as she tucked back into her food again.

Luke toyed with his pasta, pushing it around with his fork. After a moment he said, "I can't really blame him."

"Huh?" Lorelai asked as she chewed.

"He probably can't help it, liking Rory. I mean, you can't really help how you feel about people," Luke insisted as he set his fork down again. "All week long, I was trying to clear up all of this stuff with Louie, and all I could think about was that Taylor and Andrew and Bert. All of that stuff that they said was true. Louie was miserable. Surly and foul, the total opposite of my dad. Well, maybe not the total opposite, but you could tell that the guy had never had a happy day in his life," Luke said as he fidgeted with the handle of his fork. Lorelai watched him curiously, but stayed quiet when she saw him struggling to compose his thoughts.

"I asked you if you thought that I was turning out to be just like Louie, and you said no, but the reasons you gave…" Luke looked up meeting her bright blue eyes. "Lorelai those reasons mostly had to do with you. You and Rory. Hell, I don't even know if I would have said yes to Liz sending Jess here if I hadn't watched you with Rory for these past few years," he admitted with a chuckle. "You made it look easy."

"It's not," she said with a sympathetic smile. "Not even with Rory."

Luke smiled and said, "No, but you made it look like it was." He reached for his glass and took a fortifying sip. "You see, all I could think about all week was how I didn't want to be alone, how I wanted someone in my life, wanted to make room for someone. And whenever I tried to picture who that someone would be, all I could see was you," he said simply.

"Luke," Lorelai whispered.

"That picnic was nice. I probably would have stayed even if I had to choke down a stale Pop Tart and half of a Slim Jim. I like spending time with you. I like arguing with you," he said with a chuckle. "I like that when I need your help, with Jess, with the diner, with closing a casket with one too many footballs in it, I can call you."

"I like that too," Lorelai said softly. "All of that."

"I don't want to pressure you into this. I just want to be honest," he said sincerely.

"I honestly am very happy to be here right now," she told him.

Luke smiled his relief and nodded. "Good."

Lorelai picked at the remains of her lasagna with the tines of her fork. "Would you really have eaten the Pop Tart?" she asked without looking up.

"Yes."

Lorelai placed her fork gently on her plate and said, "I'm about to break one of the cardinal rules of first dates, but since we already know each other pretty well, and were doing the whole honesty thing, bear with me, okay?" When Luke nodded, Lorelai took a deep breath. "When I said yes to Max, I thought that he was the one I had been looking for. The guy who could give me all that stuff I wanted; love, comfort, safety," she said softly. "And then, one day I realized that he didn't quite fit into my life, my space, you know?" Luke nodded again, and held his breath as he waited for her to go on. "I knew it wasn't quite right," she said in a rush. "I knew, and I did it anyway. You shouldn't have to think that much. You shouldn't have to wonder if this person really gets you."

Luke exhaled softly and said, "No."

"And all these months, you know, after, I was wondering why it should be so hard. Finding that person, knowing that it is right," she said as she twisted her napkin in her lap. "And today, now, I'm sitting here thinking, it's not so hard," she said as she lifted her eyes to meet his. "When you open your eyes and see the person who might be right."

"No, it's not," he answered in a low soft voice.

Lorelai stared at him intently and asked, "Can we go now?"

"Go?"

Lorelai nodded and gestured to her half eaten meal as she said, "I'll take this home."

"Don't you want dessert? I thought you said you were happy to be here," he asked, confused and worried that he had said something wrong.

"I'm happy to be with you," she said softly. She leaned in and fixed him with a meaningful look as she whispered, "I'd just rather be somewhere where I can kiss you. A lot."

Luke swallowed hard and said, "Lorelai, as much as I'm all for the, uh, kissing thing, you know that this," he paused, gesturing between them, "isn't about that."

Lorelai cocked her head and feigned innocence as she asked, "You mean that you're planning on making room for me in your life, but not in your ridiculously small bed?"

Luke's eyes widened as he stammered, "Uh no, I mean yes. No, that's not what that means."

"Because, as long as we're being, um, blunt here, I think it's kind of a package deal," she said frankly.

"Lorelai," Luke said in a warning tone.

"Luke," she answered in a soft husky voice.

Luke swiveled in his seat and looked around for their waiter. When he couldn't spot him, he chuckled softly at himself and turned back to her. "You're killing me, here. We have no where to go. Rory is at your house and Jess is at mine," he pointed out.

"And half of the town is probably lying in wait," she conceded with a pout.

Luke smiled ruefully and said, "Might as well finish your dinner."

Lorelai reached across the table and ran her fingers gently over the back of his hand. When Luke turned his hand over and captured them, she smiled and said, "Or, you could take me parkin', Butch."

Their waiter magically appeared to check on them at that moment, and without taking his eyes off of Lorelai, Luke said, "I think we're done. Could you box the lasagna, and throw in two orders of tiramisu to go?"

"Two," Lorelai asked after the waiter had cleared her plate.

"One for Rory," Luke said as he gave her hand a squeeze and then released it to reach for his wallet.

****

Not far from Stars Hollow, a lone bottle green truck sat nestled among the overgrown brush on the side of a dark country road.

"This is ridiculous," Luke grumbled as Lorelai jammed her knee against the gear shift.

"Shut up," Lorelai murmured as she grasped the back of his head and pulled his back to her, kissing him heatedly.

"We're too old for this," Luke complained when they broke for air.

"Speak for yourself, Butch," Lorelai said as she shifted around on the bench seat until she was reclining against her door.

"Stop calling me that," Luke growled.

"Luke, kiss me," Lorelai said as she beaconed to him.

Unable to resist, Luke leaned over, twisting his body until he pressed against her and his lips met hers again. He drank her in, inhaling deeply and savoring the scent of her perfume and the taste of her lips. Their tongues swirled and danced as his hand found the silken skin of her thigh. "Lorelai," he breathed as he pressed hot wet kisses to her jaw and nipped at the tender skin of her neck. "God, I want you," he ground out breathlessly.

Lorelai moaned softly, the sound filling the cab of his truck as she ran her fingers through his hair. "This is nuts, this is nuts," she panted.

"I know," Luke murmured as he started to pull away again.

"No," Lorelai said as she clung to his shoulders, pulling him back down to her. "I mean, it's crazy that I want, I see you every day," she panted as his lips found the spot where her pulse throbbed. "Oh Luke," she sighed as he traced the spot with his tongue. "How am I gonna do it?" she breathed.

"What?" he asked his voice muffled as he kissed his way down to her collarbone.

"See you, not touch you," she whispered as she cradled the back of his head. "Oh!" she cried as his tongue slid over the hollow of her throat.

"Who said you shouldn't touch me?" he growled.

Lorelai's hand burrowed frantically under his coat, and sought the taut muscles of his back. She caressed him fervently, rubbing the crisp cotton of his shirt over his warm skin. "Can I have extra jack cheese if I kiss you here?" she asked breathlessly, nipping at his ear as she began to tug the tail of the shirt from his pants, desperate to feel the heat of him. She slid one hand down and brushed her fingers over his ass as she asked, "Can I do this when you refuse to give me a refill on my coffee?"

"Yes," he said and then drew softly on her neck.

"Really? Can I paw you as you lecture me about the evils of bacon?' she whispered. Luke's hand slid up, grazing the side of her breast, and she arched up into him. "Touch me, please touch me," she murmured in a throaty voice.

Luke raised his head and kissed her hard and hot as he covered her breast with the palm of his hand. Lorelai yanked the tail is his shirt out of his waistband and groaned into his mouth as she ran her hand up his back. He pulled back abruptly, his lips parted, his chest heaving as he forced precious oxygen down into his lungs. Lorelai's lids fluttered and she stared up at him with eyes dazed with desire. "I want you," she whispered.

The air rushed from his lungs once more and Luke groaned loudly as he reluctantly removed his hand from her breast, his thumb grazing the nipple that had pressed so insistently against his palm. "You have no idea," he said in a choked voice.

"Kiss me," she whispered temptingly.

"I can't," he rasped, pushing himself up and away from her.

"What? You don't put out on the first date?" Lorelai asked snidely, giving voice to her frustration.

"Lorelai," Luke growled as he ran his hands through his hair. "I am not going to do that in this stupid old truck," he said through clenched teeth.

Lorelai blushed as she struggled to sit upright. "Oh, are you worried about the upholstery?"

"You think I don't want to?" he asked incredulously. "Jesus, Lorelai, the things that are going through my head right now! Even if I thought it was alright, the logistics of it are mind boggling!"

"Okay, okay," Lorelai conceded as she tried to get her breathing under control.

Luke wrapped his hands around the steering wheel, gripping it tightly to keep from reaching for her. "We're never gonna be alone," he murmured, thinking out loud.

"We could go to the inn, or a motel or something," she suggested, a note of desperation creeping into her voice.

Luke slowly turned to look at her, his mouth agape. "Seriously?"

Lorelai shrugged, wondering if he could see her cheeks flaming in the darkened cab of the truck. "We could," was all she said lamely.

Luke shook his head and said, "No, I don't want that. I'm a grown man, I shouldn't be making out in your front yard, necking like a teenager in my truck or sneaking off to motels. This isn't like that," he insisted.

"You just said that we'd never be alone," Lorelai retorted indignantly.

Luke blew out a gusty breath, shaking his head in frustration. "No," he said softly but firmly. He reached out, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her closer to him. He pressed a kiss to her forehead as she leaned into him. "We'll figure it out," he promised gruffly. "It's just new." He placed a finger under her chin and tipped her face up toward his. He kissed her gently, his lips lingering on hers for a moment, and then whispered, "We'll figure it out. Come on, I'll take you home."

Lorelai settled back into her seat and smirked as she saw Luke shift around in his, trying to get his bearings again. "A little uncomfortable, Butch?" she asked with a grin.

Luke twisted the key and the slowly turned to look at her. "Wait until I get you alone," he said in a deep voice.

Lorelai sucked in a sharp breath, and then let it out with a laugh. "Why do I feel the urge to sing old Heart songs?" she asked as she scooted a little closer to him on the seat.

"Please don't," Luke grumbled as he put the truck in gear and began to make a precise three point turn on the darkened country lane.

"How do I get you alooooone," Lorelai sang loudly.

"Ah, geez," Luke groaned as gravel sprayed from under his tires and they headed back to Stars Hollow.


	5. She Always Gets Her Man

**A/N: Thank you all so much for your enthusiastic response to this story. I really appreciate the great feedback! I had thought that this would be the last chapter, but then I realized that I needed to tie this back into the episode. Oops. I'm easily distracted. So there will be at least one more as I attempt to bring this story full circle. Oh! And I need to get them naked. I like getting them naked. Enjoy!**

**She Always Gets Her Man**

And there was flirting. Well, at least, there was on Lorelai's part. The morning after their date, Luke stuck to what she would term, 'meaningful eye contact' for the most part. There were innuendos. Again, more one-sided, but still, not refuted by the man in the flannel shirt. The words hung out there, heavy with promise. The air was so thick that, like pure maple syrup, it made her mouth water. It almost made her heart ache. It definitely made the butterflies take flight in her stomach. And that was all before lunch. Lorelai was distracted for the rest of the morning, staring into space, wondering what he had really meant when he had said, 'I'll give you all the butter you need' earlier that morning.

She was so distracted that when Sookie sidled up to her behind the front desk and whispered, "Well?" urgently into her ear, Lorelai jumped, pressing her hands to her chest to make sure that her heart didn't leap out.

"God, Sook, don't do that," Lorelai hissed.

"I have to know!" Sookie said excitedly. "I heard there was some heavy duty necking going on in the front yard," she said gleefully as she tugged on Lorelai's arm.

"Shh!"

"Come on, spill! I've been in there slaving over a hot stove all morning. Tell me, were you panting under a hot diner owner last night?" Sookie asked with an exaggerated leer.

"Oh. My. God. You have been waiting all morning to say that, haven't you?" Lorelai said as she rolled her eyes.

"I thought of it while I was falling asleep," Sookie giggled. "I had to roll over and scribble it down on that little pad where I write down the dream ingredients."

"Dream ingredients?" Lorelai asked cautiously.

"You know, things I want to try in other things. They usually come to me in my dreams," Sookie explained.

"You dream about ingredients?"

"Yes. Now are you going to tell me or not?" Sookie demanded, unwilling to be distracted.

Lorelai sighed and glanced over each shoulder to be sure that nobody was standing nearby. "Yes. Kind of."

"Oooh!" Sookie as she pressed her clenched fists to her heart. She stopped suddenly and frowned as she asked, "Yes kind of what?"

"What you said, the hot diner owner," Lorelai said impatiently.

"Oh! Oh! You did it? How was it? Was it great? I bet it was great," Sookie said as she pressed both hands to her mouth and danced in a small circle.

"No, we didn't," Lorelai said hurriedly, motioning for Sookie to quiet down. "It was just some kissing, that's as far as it went."

"Really?" Sookie asked, her face falling in disappointment. "But it was on the front lawn, though, right?"

"Yes," Lorelai confirmed with a nod. "And then in his truck," she added.

"But it was hot and heavy kissing?" Sookie asked hopefully.

"Like a ton of scalding bricks," Lorelai assured her.

"This is great!" Sookie crowed as she gripped Lorelai's arms tightly, still dancing in place. She released Lorelai long enough to wrap her arms around her tightly and squeeze hard. "I'm so happy for you, for Luke, for everyone. I'm just so damn happy!"

"Well, I'm happy that you're happy," Lorelai said with a laugh as she tried to disentangle herself from her friend's arms.

"When are you gonna see him again?"

"Uh, I saw him this morning," Lorelai replied.

"No, silly!" Sookie said as she swatted Lorelai's arm a little too enthusiastically. "I mean a date."

Lorelai winced as she rubbed her injured arm. "Um, I don't know. We haven't talked about it."

"You haven't?" Sookie asked, clearly dejected.

"Well, not yet. I mean, I just saw him last night," Lorelai said, crossing her arms over her chest defensively.

Sookie nodded quickly and said, "That's right. I just got all excited," she said with a wave of her hand. "He'll call tonight."

"Yeah," Lorelai agreed.

"Okay, well, I have to get back," Sookie said as she jerked her thumb at the kitchen door.

"Probably a good idea," Lorelai said with a nod. She sighed again as she watched her friend hurry away. She rewound the morning's conversation in her head, playing it back and forth, trying to see if there had been any obvious openings he had missed. When she couldn't come up with one, she smiled and decided that since it was her early day, she would drop by the diner that afternoon so that they could make plans to get together again. Hopefully, they would as soon as possible.

****

The bells jingled as Lorelai breezed through the door and headed straight for the counter. "Hello?" she called into the kitchen.

"Be right there," Luke yelled in response.

"Are you trapped under something heavy?" Lorelai asked, craning her neck to try to see into the kitchen.

"Fixing some… Ah! Dammit!" Luke grunted.

"Are you okay?"

"Shit!" Luke appeared a moment later, his face stormy as he held a towel to his hand. "I'm fine," he growled.

"You're hurt!" Lorelai said, hurrying around the end of the counter to meet him.

"Hey, hey, hey! Where do you think you're goin'?" he asked as he intercepted her.

"You're hurt," she said as if the answer were obvious.

Luke shook his head and said, "It's just a scratch. Damn wrench slipped."

"Damn wrench," Lorelai said sympathetically as she reached for his hands.

"Get back on the other side," Luke muttered as she unwrapped the towel to inspect the damage.

"You're bleeding," she gasped.

"Yes, I have blood. It'll stop in a minute," Luke said brusquely as he covered the nasty looking scrape with the towel again. "Now, go."

"But, Luke," she started to protest as he began to herd her to the public side of the counter.

"My insurance won't cover you back here," he said by way of explanation.

"You need ice."

"I have ice. I'll put ice on it if I need to," he told her gruffly.

"What were you doing back there?" she asked.

"Clogged pipe," Luke answered as he carefully lifted the towel and saw that the bleeding had stopped. He tossed the towel into a bin to be washed and automatically turned to the coffee maker to pour her a to-go cup.

"What are you doing?"

"Getting your coffee. Isn't that why you're here?" he asked.

"Luke, you need to put a bandage on that," she said as she nodded to his hand with a worried frown.

"I will," he said tersely. "Here," he said as he placed the lid on the cup. "How's your day going?"

"Better than yours, I guess," Lorelai replied, rolling her eyes.

"Good," Luke said with a satisfied nod.

"Okay, well, you want me to let you get back to your clog?" she asked uncertainly.

Luke nodded slowly and said, "Yeah, I'd better. I need to get it fixed while it's slow in here, otherwise, it'll be a mess at dinner time."

"So, I guess I'll talk to you later?" she asked as she lifted her purse from the counter and opened it.

"Yeah." Luke waved off the dollar she held out and said, "On me. For the cussing."

Lorelai smiled and said, "You didn't even use words worth a quarter."

"I'll try to do better next time," Luke said, returning her smile.

Lorelai leaned in slightly and asked, "Want me to kiss it?"

"My hand? Not so much," he answered in a gravelly voice.

"What would you like me to kiss?" Lorelai asked flirtatiously.

The bells chimed and Babette bustled in calling, "Don't mind me, dolls. Nothin' I haven't seen before," she cackled as she hoisted herself onto a stool.

Luke sighed and asked, "What can I get ya, Babette?"

"I just need two tall cups of iced tea to go," Babette told him. "Patty and me, we're working out the choreography on the maypole. It's hard to get the little buggers all goin' in the right direction, ya know!"

"I'm sure it is," Lorelai said as she flashed Luke a rueful smile.

"Two iced teas," Luke said as he started to turn back to the counter.

"Aren'tcha gonna kiss your girl goodbye?" Babette asked him.

When his panic stricken eyes met hers, Lorelai smiled reassuringly and said, "I'm going to go on home. I'll see you later, Luke," she said, motioning with her thumb and pinkie finger for him to call her.

"See you later," Luke answered with a nod as she reached for the door handle.

****

Lorelai sat on the couch, her book propped against her thighs as her heels dug into the cushion. She had read the same sentence three times, and was now staring blankly at the page counting the seconds until the telephone rang again. She shook her head to clear it, and tried to refocus on the page. She managed to get through a whole paragraph before the ringing began again. Lorelai glared at the phone, having fallen for its siren song eight times already. When the machine picked up, she heard Dean leave yet another message for Rory, and sighed.

And the pattern repeated, every ten to fifteen minutes the phone would ring, her heart would leap, but she kept her butt planted firmly on the couch, determined not to move until she heard Luke's voice come through the tiny speaker grill. Messages nine through fourteen managed to stay along the same lines of all of their predecessors. By the time the phone rang for lucky number fifteen, Lorelai cried out in frustration, "Agh!"

"Hey," Rory called as she closed the front door behind her.

"Gah!" Lorelai grunted, ignoring the incessant ringing of the phone.

"Mom!" Rory said as she snatched the phone and pressed the 'talk' button. "Hello?" she answered futilely. She hung up and glared at her mother as she said, "That ringing is not in your head, you know."

Ignoring her daughter's sarcastic tone, Lorelai said simply, "Uh, you've gotta read this Motley Crue book. I swear, you get to the point where Ozzy Osbourne snorts a row of ants and you think, it cannot get any grosser, and then you turn the page and oh, hello, yes it can! It's excellent!" she said, feigning the appropriate level of excitement in her choice of reading material.

Rory rolled her eyes and asked, "Why didn't you answer the phone?"

"Because I firmly believe that once you've experienced something five thousand times, you need to move on," Lorelai replied, trying to keep the trace of bitterness from her voice.

"What are you talking about?"

"I knew who it was," Lorelai said with a shrug.

"Who was it?" Rory asked as she sat down next to her mother.

Lorelai looked up and said, "The same person who's called the machine so many times now that I actually heard it sigh."

"Dean?"

"Dean the determined."

Rory sighed and slumped back on the couch as she said, "Oh, man."

When the phone rang again, Lorelai stared down at her book and said, "Five bucks says I know who that is."

Rory answered the phone and gloated a little when she heard her grandfather's voice on the other end. As they worked out the details of the following day's meeting, Lorelai dug a five dollar bill from her wallet and grudgingly paid off her bet. When she hung up, they chatted a bit about Richard's involvement in Rory's school project.

Lorelai nodded as she returned to her book and said, "Hey, check the machine so I can erase the messages."

Rory's frown deepened as she listened to Dean leave message after message on the machine. "This is crazy. Ten messages?" she asked incredulously.

Lorelai nodded and said, "Plus the four that I took from him personally before I stopped answering the phone."

"Right," Rory said dejectedly as she flopped back down on the couch.

"Honey, you gotta ease up on that love potion you've been giving him or he's gonna start showing up at David Letterman's house soon," Lorelai teased gently.

"Ugh," Rory grunted.

"What's the matter?"

"Fourteen messages," Rory answered pointedly.

Lorelai winced and said, "Yeah, so, it's a little…"

"It's a little too much," Rory finished for her.

"So, what's up? Are you guys fighting or something?"

"What are you talking about?"

Lorelai closed her book and asked, "I mean, did something happen to set off the phone craze?"

Rory shook her head vehemently. "No, everything's been fine, everything's been calm. No more incidents, I don't get it."

Lorelai took a deep breath and began to proceed with caution. "Well, if I had to guess, I would say he's feeling a little insecure about something."

Rory turned to look at her and asked in a bewildered tone, "But why?"

"Rory," Lorelai said calmly.

Rory sat up straighter and said, "But I spend every free moment with him, I call him, I page him."

"I know, you've been good," Lorelai assured her.

"And nothing seems to be enough, nothing seems to make things normal again," Rory said desperately.

"Give it some time," Lorelai advised.

"I just want things to be the way they were," Rory said sadly.

"Oh, honey, relationships are hard. Sometimes you go through a weird patch and things get funky for a little while, but just give it a chance. Ride it out, things will calm down again," Lorelai said calmly.

"I hope so," Rory replied, doubt tingeing her words. "I'm gonna erase the messages," she said as she pushed herself up off of the couch.

Lorelai looked at the clock on the DVD player, saw that it was almost seven-thirty and stifled a sigh of frustration. She stared at it for a moment and then said, "I think I'll go by the video store. You wanna watch something?"

Rory shook her head and said, "Nah. I have to get started on my parts of the project before Paris takes it over entirely."

"Don't forget to call Dean," Lorelai said as he daughter walked from the room holding the telephone.

"How could I possibly?" Rory asked as she waved the messages that Lorelai has scribbled on scraps of paper and then disappeared into her room.

Lorelai tossed the book onto the coffee table and shoved her feet into the shoes she had kicked of earlier. "We've got one who won't stop calling, and one who apparently never learned to dial. What kind of idiot doesn't know the international sign for 'call me'?" she muttered. She shrugged into a light jacket and slipped out of the front door, setting off toward the square at a brisk pace.

As she crossed the square, the diner set in her sights, she heard Rory voice groan, 'Fourteen messages' and her footsteps slowed. Lorelai's eyes widened as she realized that maybe she was being a little too pushy with Luke. She paused, hovering near the curb, trying to decide if she should cross the street or not. She peered into the diner, but didn't see Luke. Her curiosity got the better of her, and she moved to the corner, planning to cross near the front of the diner and head straight to the video store that she had no intention of actually visiting when she had left the house. As she stepped up onto the curb, she saw that only two tables were occupied, and pressed her lips together in a firm line. From the looks of things, Luke had plenty of time to call, but had chosen not to. She lifted her chin and hurried past the windows toward the video store just as Luke stepped out of the kitchen with an armload of plates.

Luke saw Lorelai pass by, and turned to watch as she kept going. He delivered the orders he carried and then hovered near the door, watching to see where she had gone. As he waited he pretended to straighten some tables, knowing that she would have to pass by once again, hoping to be able to stop her and lure her into the diner with the promise of coffee and maybe a slice of pie. A few minutes later, she emerged from the video store with a bag of rentals in hand and started to pass the diner at a brisk clip.

The bells jingled as Luke yanked the door open and called, "Hey!" just as she was stepping down off of the curb.

Lorelai turned to look at him and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear as she struggled to make her tone casual. "Oh, hey."

Luke jerked his head toward the diner and asked, "You wanna come in?"

Lorelai held up the bag and said, "I have movies."

"Just for a minute. I have a piece of cherry pie left," he said as he shoved his hands into his jeans pockets and hunched his shoulders uncertainly.

Lorelai eyed him carefully as the internal debate raged. "That pie come with coffee?" she asked at last.

Luke rolled his eyes and said, "Not if I can sell you a nice glass of milk."

"No way," she said with a dismissive laugh.

"Coffee it is, then," he conceded with a smile.

Lorelai felt her heart flip over in her chest and she vowed to never tell him what an effective weapon that smile was, knowing that it could and would be used against her. "Okay, I guess I can," she said, hoping that she didn't sound overly anxious.

She followed him into the diner and perched on her usual stool as Luke poured a large mug of coffee and placed it in front of her. She lowered her eyes, pretending not to watch as he moved to the pie plate and deftly lifted the last piece of pie from the tin and plated it. He slid it in front of her with a fork and a napkin, and then leaned in, pressing his palms to the edge of the counter.

"I was gonna try to close early, but I had some stragglers," Luke said as he nodded to the occupied tables.

"Pretty slow," Lorelai commented as she cut off a hunk of pie with the edge of her fork.

"Tuesdays are like that. That's why Caesar is off on Tuesdays," he said with a nod.

"Oh, so it's just you here?" Lorelai asked, looking up at him for the first time.

Luke nodded and said, "Jess helped out with dinner, but he claimed that he had homework and disappeared just after."

"I see," Lorelai said as she took a sip of her coffee.

"I was waiting to call you," he said in a low voice.

"For the cows to come home?" she asked before she could stop herself.

Luke blinked and reared back slightly at the sharp edge in her voice. "Um, no, for a little privacy," he said quietly. "Are you mad at me?" he whispered.

Lorelai shook her head and quickly said, "No, not mad. I was just hoping that we'd do something tonight."

"Tonight?" Luke asked with a confused frown. "I have to close."

"I get that now," she told him.

"I'm sorry I didn't call, but things were busy and I didn't want to try to talk while I was doing stuff. And, even if I could have run upstairs for a few minutes, there aren't exactly walls up there," he explained.

"No, Luke, I'm sorry," Lorelai apologized quickly. "I just, I guess I was just feeling a little funky because you didn't call me fourteen times."

"Call you fourteen times?" Luke asked blankly. "Why would I call you fourteen times?"

Lorelai took a deep breath and then let it out slowly as she shook her head and said more to herself than him, "No, I don't want you to call me fourteen times."

"I'm a little lost," he said as he leaned an elbow on the counter, keeping wary eye on the door and on the patrons at their tables.

"It's stupid," Lorelai mumbled as she toyed with her pie, poking at it with her fork.

"What's stupid?"

Lorelai shrugged and said, "Well, I was waiting for you to call, which was stupid because I knew that you were working, and I should know that you can't really talk and do all of this at the same time. I remember the near decapitations that phone cord caused a couple of weeks ago," she said with a sheepish smile.

"What's bothering you?" he asked in a low voice.

"Dean called Rory fourteen times from the time that he got out of school until just a little while got when she got home," she told him.

"Am I supposed to do that?" he asked incredulously. "'Cause I have to tell you, I'm not that much of a phone guy, Lorelai," he said as he rubbed his neck.

"No, no. He's just, they're going through that weird patch, remember? And the busier she gets, the clingier he gets," she said with a slight chuckle. "I guess I should have called you fourteen times," she concluded.

Luke's smile was breathtaking as he processed her words. "Did you want to call me fourteen times?" he asked in a low intimate voice.

Lorelai blushed slightly and said, "Yes, but you probably would have yelled at me."

Luke nodded, the wide smile plastered to his face as he said, "Probably, but I probably would have liked it anyway."

"Yeah?" she asked hopefully.

"That doesn't mean you actually have to do it," he said quickly.

"You fix the clog?" she asked, anxious to change the subject.

He reached over and gave her hand a sly squeeze. "I did. I need to…" he said as he nodded to one of the tables. "Don't go anywhere."

Lorelai turned her attention back to her pie as he grabbed the coffee pot and went to check on his tables. He returned a moment later, topped off her mug and slid the pot back onto the burner all in one fluid movement.

Lorelai lifted her hand to her lips to remove some cherry glaze from her knuckle and watched in frank admiration. Luke turned back just in time to see her sucking gently on her knuckle and his eyes widened slightly. "Got it on my hand," Lorelai said as she lowered her hand, grabbing a paper napkin to wipe it off.

"Uh huh," Luke grunted as he saw the people at one of the tables stand and gather their jackets. He moved to the register, watching Lorelai out of the corner of his eye as she took a quick sip of her coffee and then cut off another hunk of pie with her fork. "Couldn't have been pumpkin," he muttered under his breath.

He rang up his customers, thanked them and then scoped the other table, trying to gauge how long it would be before he could lock the door. He turned back to Lorelai and saw her smiling as she raised a fingertip covered with cherry glaze to her lips. "Don't even," he growled.

Lorelai popped her finger into her mouth and sucked the filling off of it, all the while staring at him in wide eyed innocence. "What?" she asked as she wiped her finger daintily on a napkin.

"You're askin' for it," he grumbled as he grabbed a rag and began to wipe down the already clean counter.

"Yes, I am," she answered with a cheeky grin.

"Weren't you just mad at me?" he asked. "That seemed much safer."

"You gave me pie," she said with a shrug.

"That's all it takes?" Luke asked, raising one eyebrow.

"I'm cheap."

"But not easy," he said with an exasperated sigh.

"I might be that too, if you play your cards right," she said as she batted her eyelashes outrageously.

"Lorelai," he said in a warning tone.

"Aw, come on, you were playing along," she cajoled.

Luke stopped wiping the counter and looked over at her as he said, "I'm not playing." He tossed the rag onto the shelf below the counter and wiped his hands on the back of his jeans. "You wanna go see a movie tomorrow night?" he asked.

Lorelai's smile blossomed. "You askin' me out?"

"Am I going to have to explain that every time?"

"Well, I know how you like to be really, really clear about things," she teased. "Sure, I'm up for a movie tomorrow," she said with a grin.

"Not here, we'll go, you know, to Hartford or something," Luke thought aloud as he watched the diners at the last table dawdle over their meal.

"Sounds good," Lorelai agreed. "Tell me, with this be a movie that we actually want to watch, or will we just be going to a dark theater to make out?" she asked in a hushed voice.

Luke turned to look at her and asked, "Have you got a one track mind?"

"Pretty much," Lorelai answered quickly.

"I'm beginning to feel a little cheap myself," he joked as he moved to go clear the table that had been vacated earlier.

Lorelai giggled and turned to watch him as he worked, admiring the way his muscles moved under the layers of cotton as he gathered plates, cutlery and cups into his hands. She knew that he knew that she was watching by the slight hint of swagger in his walk as he carried the dishes into the kitchen, and knew that it was enough to make him uncomfortable by the way he growled, "Cut it out," when he reappeared. Lorelai watched with frank admiration as he finished cleaning the table, spoke briefly to the two remaining customers, and tore their ticket from his order pad, sliding onto the table before he walked toward the counter again.

Lorelai turned back to face the counter and rested her chin on her palm as she said, "You're very graceful for a guy."

"What?" Luke asked with a snort.

"You are. Must be the jock thing," Lorelai concluded.

"Jocks are graceful?" Luke laughed as he moved behind the counter, shutting off appliances and prepping the counter for the morning rush.

"There's a certain amount of grace that comes with athletic ability," Lorelai said primly.

"How would you know what my athletic abilities are?"

"I've heard about Butch Danes, track superstar," she teased.

"I wish you hadn't," Luke retorted. "Be right back," he said as he disappeared into the kitchen.

The couple at the table stood and made their way to the counter to pay. "Luke?" Lorelai called to him.

"Just a second," he called back.

Lorelai looked over and saw that the man place the bill and a twenty on the counter as he shrugged into his jacket. She smiled and stood up as she said, "I can get that for you." She walked behind the counter and stood at the cash register, mentally calculating their change as she jammed the buttons to make the ancient register open.

When it did, Luke heard the chime and called, "I said I'd be right there."

"I've got it," Lorelai called back as she handed the customer his change. She smiled warmly and said, "Thanks. Have a good night."

"You too," the man answered as he left a few bills on the counter and then ushered his wife to the door.

"Gertie," Luke growled, stepping out of the kitchen just as the bells above the door rang. "I thought you retired."

Lorelai shrugged. "I like to keep a hand in, just to keep the skills up, you know." She picked up the tip the customer had left and turned to him with an impish grin as she asked, "What's my cut of this for ringing them up?"

"Your cut?" Luke scoffed.

"I'd take a kiss," she offered enticingly.

Luke leaned forward, pressed a quick peck to her lips and snatched the dollar bills from her fingers all in the same move. "Thanks for taking care of that," he said as he stuffed the money into his jeans pocket and moved to the door. He flipped the sign over, locked the door, and turned back to find her pouting.

"I should at least get a dollar. That was a lame kiss," she complained. Luke simply smiled and grabbed her wrist as he passed by, pulling her along behind him as he made his way to the back of the diner. "Where are we going? Isn't Jess home?" Lorelai asked as she stumbled after him.

"Yep," Luke answered as he led her into the store room and closed the door behind them.

"Wow, luring me into Luke's den of iniquity," Lorelai said with a smirk.

Luke released her wrist as he turned and plunged both hands into her hair, pressing her back against the door with his body as he lowered his lips to hers and kissed her hard and hot. Lorelai gripped his biceps, hanging onto him as he pulled back slightly. "Much better," she whispered as she looked into his eyes.

"You're gonna have to stop this, Lorelai," he said raggedly, and then kissed her again, parting her lips with his. His tongue sought hers, and he drew it gently into his mouth. When they broke, gasping for air, he pressed his lips to her forehead, trailing soft kisses along her brow. "You can't come in here and do this to me," he murmured as his hands glided over her sides, coming to rest in the curve of her waist.

"Do what?" she asked softly as she closed her eyes, savoring the feel of his lips.

"Come in here and tease me," he answered. "Geez, how does someone make eating French toast look sexy?" he groaned, referring to her breakfast shenanigans as he feathered kisses over her eyelids. "And the thing with the link sausage was not even funny," he insisted as he made his way down her cheek to her jaw. He ducked his head and drew the soft skin of her neck into his mouth, causing her to moan softly. "I can't work," he murmured as he made his way up to her ear. He caught the lobe between his teeth and bit it teasingly before sucking it gently into his mouth. His breath was warm, rushing over the shell of her ear and sending a shiver down her spine as he said, "I already want you. You don't have to seduce me with pie."

"No?" she asked breathlessly.

"No," he replied.

His mouth found hers again, and Lorelai's hands slid over his shoulders to his neck, her fingers seeking the soft curls under the bill of his cap as their tongues clashed. She knocked the hat from his head, running her other hand through his soft hair and holding him there, drinking him in. Luke's fingers slipped under the hem of her shirt, dancing in small circles over her stomach, mimicking the rhythm of his tongue. Lorelai moaned again as she felt the heat of his palm press against her, his fingers curling around her waist, pressing into her flesh with barely contained ardor. He shifted slightly, pressing into her hip as he positioned one leg between hers. His hand slid up, gently caressing her ribs and grazing the side of her breast before slipping to her back and gripping her shoulder in an attempt to restrain himself.

Lorelai pressed her head back against the door, gasping for air. "You want me to beg?" she asked breathlessly.

"No," he whispered, shaking his head slightly as he moved back to her neck, unable to get enough of her. "No," he murmured against the pulse that jumped in her throat as he is and closed over her breast.

Lorelai sighed, a mixture of relief and desire rushing through her body. "I need you to touch me," she whispered. "How did I survive this long with having you touch me?" she wondered aloud as he ran his thumb over the beaded tip of her nipple, using the lace of her bra to tease her.

Her words drove him. Luke grasped the hem of her shirt and pulled it up, tugging her away from the door a bit as he yanked it over her head and let it fall carelessly to the floor. He looked down, his eyes resting momentarily on her parted lips, red and swollen with his kisses, before he allowed them to travel down the graceful column of her throat. They took in each and every freckle that dusted her pale skin and finally came to rest at her breasts. He saw her suck in a breath and hold it as his fingertips traced the pale pink lace that edged her bra. "This is crazy," he whispered to himself as he traced her soft curves, his callused fingertips raising goosebumps on her skin. "You're making me crazy," he said as he slowly raised his gaze to meet hers.

"Ditto," Lorelai answered in a husky voice, lost in the dark blue depths of his eyes.

"I want to do better than this," he murmured, unable to resist cupping her gently in his hand. He kissed her tenderly, his lips lingering on hers as he pulled back.

"I think you're doing pretty damn good."

"This isn't how it's supposed to be," he told her, lowering his eyes to watch as he teased the tip of her breast with his thumb. Lorelai watched as he closed his eyes for a moment and then said in a raspy voice, "Tell me to stop, Lorelai."

"No," she whispered.

Luke laughed; the sound of it laden with regret. "You should. This is not how it should be. Not this time. Not when we make love the first time," he said as he opened his eyes and stared at her intently. "Look at us, Lorelai. I'm covered in fourteen hours worth of grease and food, and you're pinned up against a door. This isn't how I want it to be. I don't want you looking at a year's supply of Sweet 'n Low packets, I want you looking at me," he said in low soft voice. All the while his hands played over her soft skin, his fingers teasing her, testing her, driving her wild. "You're gonna have to stop this," he told her hoarsely. "Otherwise, this is how it's gonna be."

"I don't wanna stop," she whispered.

Luke nodded and swallowed hard as he lowered his eyes. "Okay," he breathed, and pressed his lips to hers again, pouring all of his need into his kiss as his hand closed over her breast possessively. Lorelai moaned into his mouth, arching into him, pressing into his hand.

Luke found the clasp of her bra with his other hand and deftly unhooked it. When Lorelai felt the silky fabric give way, she tore her mouth from his and gasped, "Oh!"

Luke immediately lowered his head kissing his way from the tip of her shoulder to her collarbone, and then licking and nipping his way to the hollow of her throat. He dipped his tongue into the shallow valley in a blatantly suggestive manner, and then lifted his eyes to look up at her boldly as he bent down. He captured the dusky tip of her breast between his lips and drew her into his mouth, sucking gently as he cupped her breast, his fingers stroking the soft skin lightly.

"Luke," Lorelai gasped as she cradled his head, her fingers slipping through his fine hair and tangling in the curls at the back.

He released her and nuzzled her breast, breathing in the scent of her as the rush of his breath over her damp skin made her groan. "You're so beautiful," he said reverently.

"We have to stop," she whispered.

"I know."

"I don't want to stop," she said softly.

"I know."

"I want…" she trailed off. Lorelai groaned in frustration as he placed a soft kiss to her pouting nipple and then stood straight, pulling her against him and holding her tightly.

"I know. Me too," he whispered into her hair.

"Rory has a meeting after school tomorrow. Should take a couple of hours," she said softly.

"Yeah?"

"Will you come over?"

"Yes."

Lorelai smiled and rubbed her forehead against his shoulder. "You are easy."

Luke ran both hands gently over her hair, toying with the ends and twisting them around his fingers. "You have no idea how easy I can be when it comes to you," he answered with a laugh.

"Admitting your weaknesses, nice," she teased.

"I think I already did that," he said dryly.

"You think that makes you weak?" she asked, her tone turning serious.

Luke shook his head and reared back slightly to look at her. "Not right at this moment, I don't."

Lorelai reached up, smoothing her fingertips over his brow and letting them trail along his cheek. She smiled at the feel of his rough stubble and knew that she would see the battle scars on her chin and cheeks with she got home. "I think that saying what you said, and just putting it all out there, proves how strong you are," she said quietly.

"Or that I've given up on holding onto any scrap of pride," he answered, a faint blush coloring his cheeks. He ran his hand over her bare back and then said gruffly, "We should get you, uh, you know." Reluctantly, he let go of her and bent to scoop her shirt and bra from the floor. He shook them out and then offered them to her, letting them dangle from his fingers.

Lorelai smiled as he shyly turned away to allow her to dress. She hurriedly fastened her bra and shrugged the straps onto her shoulders before turning her shirt right side out. "Okay, since I know how you like to be clear about stuff," she said as she pulled the shirt over her head and tugged the hem down around her hips. She placed her hand on his arm to signal him that it was okay to look at her. "Let me put this out there," she said as his eyes met hers. "Tomorrow, we will be all alone in the house. Now, in my house we have a couch as well as beds. All sorts of nice cushy surfaces available. And, since we will be all alone, we will have full and exclusive access to them," she said slowly. When Luke smirked, Lorelai flashed a saucy smile. "I think you should probably tell me now if I can expect to see any action. That way, I won't be disappointed. If not, I'll break out the Chinese Checkers game and you can try to beat me, but I have to tell you, I'm pretty damn good."

A laugh escaped him before he could stop it. He shook his head as he pulled her flush against him and then kissed her firmly. "Well, since I have no idea how to play Chinese Checkers, I would say that there will be action, and you won't be disappointed," he said in a deep throaty voice.

"Promise?"

"I'd offer to swear on a bible, but I have a healthy fear of lightning strikes."

"Walk me home?" she asked as she plucked at the collar of his flannel.

"Planned on it."

"You planning anything else in there?" she asked as she looked up at him coyly.

"Lots of things."

Lorelai cocked her head and studied him carefully. "Care to share them with the class?"

Luke shook his head as he gently nudged her aside and opened the store room door. He took her hand, lacing his fingers through hers as he said, "Only on a need to know basis," and led her back out into the diner.


	6. Saddle Up!

**A/N: Okay, this is it. You didn't seriously think I could be assigned an episode titled 'Back in the Saddle Again' and not save the saddle reference for the chapter in which they get nekkid, did you? Thank you so much for reading and reviewing. I hope that you liked it!**

**Saddle Up!**

Lorelai left work early the following afternoon, too antsy to concentrate on what needed to be done at the inn, her head too full of thoughts of Luke, and what needed to be done before he came over. She pulled into the driveway to find Dean washing Rory's car, and sighed heavily. She ordered him away from the car, demanding that he drop the squirty thing where he stood, and led him into the kitchen. There, she proceeded to gently try to convince Dean that the best thing that he could do to hang onto Rory was to give her some space. Dean seemed unconvinced that his ardent pursuit could be a part of the trouble that they were currently having.

"Space?" he asked, doubtfully.

"Just a little," she cautioned.

Dean frowned and asked, "Like what? Like don't call her, don't see her?"

Lorelai shook her head and said, "No, just let her breathe, let her relax, let her come to you for a change."

"You're not telling me this to get rid of me, are you?" he asked suspiciously.

Lorelai laughed and shook her head. "Please, if I was trying to get rid of you I would've started this conversation with, 'Let me tell you about my family'. I'm not telling you this to get rid of you, I'm telling you because I think it might help things between you guys. Just try it. If it doesn't work, I promise you can wash my car, too," she added with a kind smile.

Dean nodded slowly and said, "Okay."

"Do you want a soda?" Lorelai offered.

Dean shook his head as he stood up and said, "No, thanks. I'm gonna go. Uh, don't tell Rory I was here, okay?"

Lorelai smiled up at him and answered, "Hey, I'm just sitting here at the table talking to myself. Again."

"Thanks."

Lorelai's smile faded into a thoughtful frown as he escaped out of the back door. "Bye Dean," she called after him, and then stared blankly as the curtain over the back door window swished into place.

She stared at the frilly edge of the curtain, her thoughts of Dean and Rory quickly becoming jumbled with thoughts of Luke. And Max. And Christopher. All of the men in her life who could have been the man in her life. Lorelai ran her thumb over a scar in the old wooden table, a remnant of one of Rory's long past school projects, and tried to sort out exactly what had made her run from Max. What exactly was it that made her cling so hard to the thought of Christopher. And why she knew deep in her heart that it would never have worked with either of them. She replayed the meltdown that she had with Sookie over and over in her head, trying to pinpoint precisely what it was that had convinced her that she could no longer push her feelings for Luke aside.

Lorelai jumped at the sound of a soft knock on the kitchen door. She stood up, steadying herself with one hand on the table as she struggled to clear her head, and then walked over to open the door, half expecting to find Dean on the other side. When she saw Luke standing in front of her wearing clean jeans and the soft black sweater she had picked out for him the previous spring, she took an involuntary step back.

"Hi," he said simply. "Did you know that your hose was stretched all across the yard? You shouldn't leave it like that."

"No, you're right," she murmured, staring at him with a puzzled expression.

"I rolled it up and turned off the water," he told her, cocking his head as he tried to read the expression on her face.

"Oh, come in," Lorelai said distractedly. As he stepped past her, she caught a whiff of his aftershave, something woodsy and light, not musky and overly cloying. She noted that his hair was still slightly damp, curling invitingly at the nape of his neck, tempting her to touch it. She closed the door after him and said, "Hi, um, hi," as she turned back to him, twisting her fingers together to keep from reaching out for him.

"Hey. I came around back. I didn't know if Babette was around…" he trailed off watching as she moved around the kitchen, straightening things that didn't need to be straightened, leaving things that clearly needed straightening untouched. "Are you okay?" he asked worriedly as he noted her jerky movements.

"I'm fine," Lorelai said quickly as she opened the refrigerator. "Do you want something to drink? We actually have sodas. But you probably don't drink soda. At least, I've never seen you drink one. I have water," she rambled as she reached for a bottle of water and then held it up to show it to him.

"Lorelai," Luke started to say.

"I can heat water. I think we have some tea bags," she said as she put the bottle of water back on the shelf and let the refrigerator door slam shut. She hurried to the stove and lifted the kettle from the burner, moving to the sink to fill it, keeping her back to him.

"Hey," Luke called to her. When her head lifted, but she didn't turn around, he shoved his hands deep into his jeans pockets and said, "We don't have to, you know… I mean, I don't expect…"

Lorelai shut the water off and exhaled loudly as she lowered the kettle into the sink. "I think I'm in love with you," she said quietly.

"What?" Luke asked, taking one step closer to her, but then stopping as he took in the rigid set of her shoulders.

Lorelai turned slowly and said, "I'm pretty sure that I am." She offered him a shaky smile and said, "Sorry, it didn't come out quite as, uh, forcefully as yours did." When he stared at her open-mouthed, Lorelai's smile grew more certain as the pieces finally fell into place. She leaned back against the sink and said, "Dean was here today. Washing Rory's car. We had a little talk, and it got me thinking."

"Okay," Luke answered, releasing the breath that had been trapped in his lungs.

"I couldn't marry Max. He said he loved me, he may have been amused by me, but he was also annoyed by the way I work. I don't know, the way I chose to live my life may have fascinated him, but it certainly baffled him. He just didn't get it. Get me," she told him. "And Christopher, well, you heard all of that," she said as she laughed ruefully. "Maybe I was waiting for him to grow up. Maybe I was clinging to that dream of the perfect nuclear family thing, but not because I loved him. I mean, I'll always love him for giving me Rory, but I'm not in love with him. I know, I've always known, and that he just couldn't give me what I needed," Lorelai confessed, watching his reaction carefully. "Its nuts. One guy who, on paper at least, should have been perfect; another guy who should have been the one to fulfill both of our hopes and dreams. Mine and Rory's, I mean. Not yours," she babbled.

When Luke remained silent, she forged on ahead. "The day that you told me you loved me, God, was that just two days ago?" she wondered aloud. She shook her head in wonder and said, "I went into the kitchen and had my little breakdown, and now that I think about it, I realize that all of the reasons that I gave Sookie for not being with you had nothing to do with my feelings for you." She took a step closer to him, closing the distance between them as she reached out and placed her hand over his hammering heart. "I never once said that I didn't want to be with you. All I could think about was the fact that you called it out. I wasn't sure if it was time, but you put it out there, and I wasn't prepared for it. I always thought that I would have time to prepare for it," she murmured as she looked up into his eyes.

"Lorelai," Luke began to say.

She shook her head, pressing her fingertips to his lips to stop him. "I don't want a man who's only good on paper. I don't want a man who is made out of dreams. I want a real man, one who is always there for me, and for Rory. One that I can trust, that I know loves me, loves us," she said vehemently. "Deep down, I knew it was going to happen, me and you, and that scared me. I don't want to ever hurt you, or even disappoint you."

When he kissed her fingertips lightly, she smiled and lowered her hand. "You get me. You may be amused or annoyed by me, but you get me. And, you have always been there. For me. For Rory. You have never let us down." She looked into his dark blue eyes and said softly, "You are the real deal. I'm in love with you. And, I hope to God that I don't screw this up, because it's always been there, and I don't know how I'll go on without it, without you, if I do."

"You won't screw it up. I won't let you," Luke said in a husky voice.

"Promise?"

"I promise," he answered confidently. "Tell me again, Lorelai."

A faint blush colored her cheeks as she glanced down at her fingers, nervously plucking at his sweater. She looked up and found him waiting patiently, just as he had always been. "I'm in love with you," she whispered.

His lips twitched as he fought to hold back his smile. He wrapped one arm around her waist, holding her firmly. "Like you mean it," he ordered hoarsely.

"I love you, Luke," Lorelai said in a stronger voice. His smile was breathtaking, teeth flashing white as his eyes crinkled. She reached up, tracing the laugh line that bracketed his mouth with her fingertip. "Happy now?" she asked in a softly teasing voice.

"Unbelievably," Luke answered as he lowered his mouth to hers, trapping her hand against his chest. He kissed her sweetly, his lips brushing over hers before melting into them, his hand caressing her temple and smoothing her hair back from her face.

Lorelai pulled back, her fingers curling into his sweater as she flashed him a blinding smile. "What you said earlier, about, you know," she said as she glanced meaningfully down at their bodies pressed together. "You were wrong, we do have to," she said as she looked at him boldly. "As a matter of fact, I think it's required."

Luke's lips twisted into a wry smile. "Well, I woulda been lying if I'd said I wouldn't be disappointed."

Lorelai gasped and stepped back, her hand sliding down his arm to take his. She laced her fingers through his and said, "Well, I can't have that. I never want to disappoint you," as she turned and began to lead him to the stairs. She hooked her arm behind her back and smiled at him over her shoulder as they started up the stairs.

Lorelai counted each step in her head, listening to the sound of his boots on the treads, her heart beating faster and faster as they reached the top. She paused as she glanced into her room and said, "I meant to come home and clean up. Maybe find a candle or two," she added with a nervous flick of her wrist.

Luke freed his hand from hers and then wrapped both arms around her, pulling her back against his chest. He nuzzled the side of her neck, pushing her hair aside and kissing the shell of her ear softly. "You don't need candles, and I probably wouldn't have recognized your room if you had cleaned it," he murmured in her ear.

"I wanted it to be special," she whispered, covering his hands with hers.

Luke loosened his hold on her and gently placed his hands on her hips, turning her to face him in the doorway. He stared down at her and asked, "You think it isn't special enough that you just told me that you love me? Do you really think I want or need anything more than that?"

"I just meant…" she trailed off as he shook his head slowly.

"You're all I want. This is all I need. You and me. Rory," he told her earnestly as he brushed the back of his fingers over her cheek. "I'm not a real, uh, romantic guy, Lorelai. I probably won't say or do the right things at the right times," he said with a slight shrug. "But I will tell you, as clearly as I can," he added with a teasing smile. "I love you. I want to be in your life. I want to be that guy, the real guy. To be there for you and for Rory, that's all I want." He kissed her gently and then asked in a throaty whisper, "Will you let me be that guy?"

"You already are," Lorelai answered as she framed his face with her hands, kissing him passionately. She wound her arms around his neck and pressed the length of her body to his. They parted, their breathing labored with desire and anticipation. "I believe you promised me some action," she whispered as he nuzzled her gently, brushing his lips over hers, breathing in her perfume, running his hands through her hair.

"You gonna let me in the room?" he asked with a low chuckle.

"I'm gonna insist on it," Lorelai answered as she stepped back, pulling him into her bedroom with her.

Luke began to peel the tight black leather jacket from her shoulders, his eyes locked on her face, waiting and watching for some sign of hesitation in her eyes, but finding only welcome there. The jacket fell to the floor, and he quickly began to unbutton her blouse, his breath washing over her lips, the heat of his body radiating through his sweater. Using the palms of his hands, he parted the blouse, smoothing it from her shoulders as he captured her lips again. His kiss was swift and sure, his tongue taking possession of hers as he groaned deep in his throat. His hands were everywhere, stroking her back, caressing her ribs, absorbing the feel of her soft flesh. He tore his mouth from hers, and gasped for air. "So long," he murmured as he stared down at her intently. "I've wanted you for so long," he confessed.

"You have me now," Lorelai replied. Her hands found the hem of his sweater and began to work it up over his stomach. "And I have you."

Luke stepped back, allowing her to strip the sweater over his head, and watching with eyes heavy with desire as she ran her hands over his chest, stroking the soft hair as she drank him in with frank admiration. "Good God," she muttered in disbelief before pressing her lips to his neck. She bit him gently, and when he flinched a little, she smiled against his skin and said, "That's what you get for keeping all of this hidden under fifteen pounds of flannel."

Luke chuckled and said, "Yeah, well, you like surprises."

"I do," Lorelai said as she let her hands glide over the broad expanse of his shoulders. She smiled as she saw Luke's eyes fall to her breasts still encased in pale blue lace, and lowered her hands to the waistband of her pants. Without taking her eyes from his, Lorelai unbuttoned them and lowered the zipper as she stepped out of her shoes. She smoothed the material down over her thighs and stepped free of it as it pooled at her feet. She looked up as she straightened, watching his reaction as he took in the matching panties. "You like?"

Luke snapped out of his daze and reached for her, walking her two steps back to her unmade bed and kissing her hard and hot as he pressed her back onto the mattress, covering her with his body. "I love," he rasped as he blazed a trail of urgent kisses down the side of her neck. "Oh God, I love," he murmured as he pushed back, looking down at her prone beneath him. His breath escaped him in a rush as he pushed back onto his knees, bent his head and lowered his mouth to her breast. He drew the lace covered nipple into his mouth and sucked fervently, his hands cupping her, squeezing her with barely restraint ardor.

"Oh!" Lorelai cried as she arched off of the mattress, grasping his head and pressing into him. Her hips jerked with each insistent tug of his mouth. Luke ran one hand down over her stomach, his fingertips teasing the top of her panties as he moved to lavish the same attentions on her other breast. "Off. Take it off," Lorelai demanded.

"In a minute," Luke murmured against the soft curve of her breast. He teased her nipple through the lacy fabric, closing his eyes as a strangled moan escaped her lips, and she thrust up off of the mattress, desperate for him to touch her.

"Luke, please," she panted. Luke obliged, covering the hardened tip of her with his warm mouth as his fingers danced lightly over her panties. Unable to resist the heat, he lowered his hand, covering her with his palm, and groaning loudly as he began to stroke her through her panties, feeling the rasp of the lace glide over her slick folds. "Yes," she hissed between her teeth, pressing her head into the pillow and pressing into his hand. "Off," she gasped again.

"I need to, I want to slow down," Luke said raggedly as he pressed his lips to the valley between her breasts.

"No slowing, no time," she whispered urgently.

"I don't want, I want it to last," Luke answered, trailing a line of kisses down her stomach.

Lorelai reached down and grasped his head between her hands, forcing him to look up at her. Her breathing was shallow and fast as she whispered, "We don't have time. Another time, please, I need you."

"And I finally have you. I'm not about to rush it," Luke said as he pressed his open mouth to the soft skin just above her panties. "We have a little time," he insisted as he began to move lower. He parted her thighs with his hands, his eyes seeking hers and finding them clouded with arousal. He pressed his lips to her, teasing the lace with the tip of his tongue, and smiled when she instinctively rose to meet him.

Luke teased her, alternating ardent kisses with the barest brushes of his lips and tongue over the material, groaning deeply as he drew the lace into his mouth and sucked her juices from it. "Oh God, now, now," Lorelai cried out as she fisted her fingers in his hair.

Luke lifted his head, looking up at her boldly as he asked softly, "Now?"

"Now," she answered.

Luke rose up on his knees, watching her closely as he reached to unclasp the front hook of her bra. He gently peeled the lace from each breast, bending to kiss each one in turn. "So beautiful," he murmured, unable to resist drawing on of the dusky pink buds into his mouth and laving it. He kissed his way back down her stomach once more, hooking his fingers into the edge of her panties, and dragging them with almost painful deliberation down over her hips. He pulled them over her legs, and dropped them to the floor at the foot of the bed before he slid off of the end and stood staring down at her.

Lorelai's cheeks colored as she shifted slightly, but fought the urge to cover herself as she lay bare before him. Luke's lips curved into a sheepish smile as he bent down and quickly unlaced his boots. He toed them off, stripping his socks of quickly and then straightened again to find her smiling with barely contained amusement. "Stupid shoes," he muttered as he reached for the buckle on his belt.

"Things do get in the way," Lorelai answered. When she saw the flush in his cheeks, she grinned and raised herself up on her elbows to watch the show. "Take it off. Take it allll off, baby," she teased.

Luke rolled his eyes and he unbuttoned the fly of his jeans and said, "I don't see any dollar bills in your hand."

Lorelai's eyebrows shot up and he pushed his jeans and boxer briefs down and said, ""I'll give you a twenty if you can do that without falling over."

Luke's jaw dropped in exasperation. "Well, now I won't be able to," he grumbled as he pushed them down over his thighs. He sis stumble, catching himself on the edge of the bed as he tried to free his feet, and Lorelai laughed, the sound of it filling the room. He looked up, his own smile slightly abashed as he moved quickly to climb back onto the bed. "You did that on purpose," he accused.

Lorelai's hand slid down the center of his chest. The muscles in his stomach jumped and quivered as she skimmed over them, not to be deterred in her quest. One by one, she wrapped her fingers around him, a soft purr of appreciation replacing her laughter as she murmured, "Yes, I did." She stroked him lightly, teasing the tip of him with her thumb, and Luke groaned. Lorelai's smile was feline, her eyes, slumberous with desire, her skin flushed with heat.

Luke's breath caught in his chest as he looked down at her, braced on his hands, struggling to hold himself in check as he allowed her to explore him. Her hand slid over his ass, urging him closer as she blinked up at him slowly. Luke swallowed hard and asked in a gravelly voice, "We should, uh, protection."

"I'm on the pill," she whispered, her fingers playing over his taut skin and then closing around him, squeezing him tightly. "Healthy," she panted, licking her lips as she looked down at him.

"Me too," Luke answered. "Not the pill, the other," he said, struggling to get the words out.

Lorelai nodded slightly and then said, "You said you loved me, Luke." She looked up at him challengingly and asked, "Are you going to make love to me, or was that all talk?"

A laugh escaped him before he could help it. He reached for her hand, gently pulling her fingers away from him as he said, "Well, you know me. Big talker." He pinned her hand up next to her head, and leaned down to kiss her. His tongue swept into her mouth, drawing her up off of the pillow to meet him. "Bossy woman," he said in a low raspy voice. "Next you'll wanna arm wrestle to see who's on top."

Lorelai smiled and draped her leg over his, urging him down onto her as she said, "You started this, you'd better be prepared to finish it."

Luke kissed her again as he lowered his weight onto her. He slid down slightly, positioning himself at her entrance, and holding himself there as he waited for her to open her eyes and look at him. When she did, he pressed forward slightly, groaning as her damp heat enveloped the tip of him. "Learn to be patient," he whispered hoarsely. "I don't intend to be finished with you for a long, long time." His eyes stayed locked on hers, as small gasp caught in the back of her throat. Luke sighed loudly as her heat enveloped him.

"Oh, yes," Lorelai whispered in a rush of air.

With a strangled chuckle of agreement, Luke's eyes closed as he began to move slowly. Lorelai circled her hips, meeting each thrust with abandon. Luke bit his lip, struggling to hold back, fighting the urge to plunge into her mindlessly. Lorelai's hands slid down his back, cupped his ass, and urged him deeper. Luke lowered his lips to hers, his breathing labored against them as he tried to lose himself in her kiss. Lorelai's nails dug into his flesh, holding him fast, as he caught her tiny mews of pleasure. Lorelai turned her head, gasping for air as she cried, "Oh!"

Luke exhaled one long ragged breath, watching as Lorelai's eyelids fluttered and her breath came rapidly. Sensing that she was close, he moved faster, pushing deeper, desperately trying to get closer as her muscles tensed and coiled around him. "Oh, yeah," he muttered under his breath.

Lorelai swallowed hard and then sucked in greedy gulps of air. "Luke," she whispered in his ear. "Oh, Luke," she sighed as she tumbled over the edge.

"I, oh Lorelai, I," he groaned as he thrust into her blindly.

Moments later, Lorelai smoothed her hand over the back of his head, smiling languidly as he pressed tiny kisses to her hair and neck. "I too," she whispered, smoothing her hand up over the hard muscles in his back. "I too." Luke chuckled, and nuzzled deeper into her neck, glad that she couldn't see him as he blushed. "Good Lord, you have a gorgeous body," she drawled as she stroked his smooth skin greedily.

Luke chuckled again, and shook his head, but said nothing as he continued to kiss her neck softly.

"Cat got your tongue?" she asked teasingly.

"Nope," he answered and then traced small circles on her neck with the tip of his tongue to prove it.

"Not so chatty after, huh?" she asked with a laugh.

"Uh uh," Luke replied. He slid an arm under her, holding her close to him as he rolled onto his back, pulling her over on top of him.

"Slick move," she complimented as he pushed her hair back from her face with both hands.

"Thanks."

"Still in love with me?" she asked with a saucy smile.

"Uh huh."

"Still going to a movie tonight?"

"Thought we got that clear," Luke growled as he rolled his eyes.

"Just trying to coax a few more words from you," she answered sweetly.

"No words," he said in a deep husky voice. He looked up at her tenderly. "I've got no words."

"I wish that we could stay here," Lorelai said wistfully.

"Me too."

She sighed and lowered herself down onto him, snuggling into his neck. "I like it here."

"Yeah."

"Gonna buy me popcorn?" she asked.

"If I have to," he answered.

"You do."

"Okay."

"Wanna get up?' she asked with a sigh.

"Not yet," Luke answered, tightening his hold on her.

"We may fall asleep," she cautioned.

"No, not sleeping," he assured her as his hands explored her body. "You too," he whispered.

"Me too what?"

"Gorgeous body," he said gruffly.

"Just catching up?" she teased as she lifted her head to grin at him.

"Yep."

"Do I need to ask you again?"

"Yes, we're going to the movie, I guess so, on the popcorn, and no, I'm not ready to get up yet," he replied.

"And the other one?" she asked coyly.

"No, I'm not very chatty," he told her with a smirk.

"Uh!" Lorelai gasped, her jaw dropping as she tried to act incensed.

Luke reached up, framing her face in his hands, his thumbs stroking her jaw as he looked up at her. "I already told you." When she scowled playfully, he smiled and said, "I'm in love with you, Lorelai Gilmore," he said with a slight shrug. "Can't help it. The heart wants what the heart wants. God help me," he added darkly.

Lorelai kissed him playfully and said, "Yep. Sucker." She glanced over at the clock and said with a heavy sigh, "We should get up. Try to look presentable." She pushed herself up off of him and asked, "If I share the shower, can I have extra butter on my popcorn?"

****

Friday night, after dinner, Lorelai and Rory made their way back to Stars Hollow, chattering happily about the good rolls with the buttery split top and Richard's decision to go into business for himself. Rory happily reported that the page that she had just received was the first she had received from Dean in two days. Lorelai smiled encouragingly, pleased that Dean seemed to be taking her advice to give Rory some space to heart. Her smile faded, however, when Rory insisted that she was spending the evening with Lane, rather than calling poor Dean back. She glanced over at the diner longingly, but instead drove past, reasoning that her breakfast and lunch visits earlier that day would just have to be enough.

Lorelai pulled to a stop in her driveway and saw Dean sitting on the front steps, his shoulders hunched in defeat. She approached slowly, and when he didn't look up, she said softly, "Dean."

"She likes Jess, doesn't she?" he asked in a low raspy voice. Lorelai stared at him, unable to give him the answer that he wanted. Her heart broke for him as he stood up, shoved his hands into his pockets, and trudged slowly home.

She sank heavily down onto a step, watching him go, and wondering what they would all do if his words proved to be true. She heard the phone ringing inside, but made no move to answer it. Instead, she fiddled with the strap of her purse, losing the battle with her own heart as she wished that Luke was there to talk about it. He had become an addiction. Even more than his coffee, if that was possible. And even though it was normal for her to see him for at least two out of three meals each day, she suddenly found herself antsy, counting the minutes until it was time again. She knew it was a tad pathetic, her need for those stolen kisses in the store room, the yearning to see his smile, but she comforted herself with the knowledge that he seemed to be struggling with it too. Just last night, he had showed up at the house after closing, holding a box of leftover brownies and two large coffees. It seemed only polite to invite him to join Lorelai and Rory on the couch as they watched the end of one of the movies she had rented on her fake run to the video store. And afterward, when they sat on the porch snuggled together, laughing, talking and kissing, he had not seemed overly anxious to leave, even though they both knew that he had to open the next morning.

Armed with those thoughts, she swallowed hard, forcing her pride down along with the lump that had lodged in her throat. Lorelai stood up and headed for her car. She backed down the drive and pointed the Jeep in the direction of the square once more, flooring it in her haste to get to him. Her brakes squealed in protest as she pulled to a halt in front of the diner just as Luke emerged holding a to-go box in his hand. She jumped from the car and met him on the sidewalk.

"Hey. I saw you drive by," he told her.

"We're still friends, right?" she demanded.

"What?"

"I mean, aside from all of the other stuff. We're still friends, aren't we?" she asked desperately.

"Yeah, of course," he answered with a perplexed frown.

"So, as my friend, if you thought that I was getting a little too pushy, acting a little needy or clingy with my boyfriend, or coming around too much, you'd tell me, right?" she asked.

"What's this about?" Luke asked.

"As my friend, you'd tell me, wouldn't you? Before I got all stupid and pushed you away?"

Luke's eyebrows shot up as he processed her words. "Uh, yeah. Yeah, I'd tell you." He looked at her carefully and asked, "You'd do the same for me, right?"

"Right," Lorelai confirmed.

Luke looked at her quizzically and then glanced down at the box in his hand. "Just to be clear, does this mean that I can or cannot bring you pie when you don't stop by the diner?"

She gave his question grave consideration for a moment and then said, "You can always bring me pie," with a decisive nod.

"Okay, good," Luke said as he nodded. He held up the box and said, "I was bringing you this pie since you didn't stop by to see me. I missed you."

Lorelai nodded as she took the box from his hand and said, "Good. I missed you too."

"Okay, well, I guess we got that settled," he said with a laugh.

"Wait. Is there coffee in there to go with this pie?" Lorelai asked pointedly.

"Oddly enough, a fresh pot," he told her.

Lorelai's smile bloomed as she leaned in to peck a quick kiss to his lips. "Aw, you did miss me," she cooed.

Luke rolled his eyes. "I'm not really sure why, but yes, I did."

"So, I can come in?" she asked.

"I thought that was the point of this," he answered impatiently.

Lorelai beamed at him and said, "I wanted to call you fourteen times today."

Luke snorted as he ushered her toward the diner door. "Only fourteen? I must be losing my touch," he said as he followed her up the steps.

"Yes, you should work on that. I suggest touching me more," Lorelai said with a saucy grin as she sashayed past him and claimed her usual spot at the counter.

"I will do my best," Luke murmured as he sauntered to the counter to get her coffee.

The End


End file.
